


Starling City's Finest

by The_White_Wolf



Series: The Canary of Starling City Trilogy [2]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012), The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Canonical Character Death, Contains some adaptions from S2 of Marvel Netflix Daredevil, F/M, Gen, Older more experienced Ted, chosen family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-11-26
Packaged: 2020-04-24 12:28:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 19
Words: 78,975
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19173286
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_White_Wolf/pseuds/The_White_Wolf
Summary: Months following Brickwell's fall, Black Canary and her new partner, Speedy are protecting their city from the criminals and the corrupt. Oliver returns from his five years in hell. And now, Black Canary, Speedy must deal with The Hood and the plans of the clandestine group known only as; 'Tempest'. (Sequel to 'The Canary of Starling City'.)





	1. Speedy

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is the sequel to my previous story; The Canary of Starling City. I suggest you read that fic before this one.

Thea was sparing against Laurel when the attorney flipped her sister over her shoulder. It was the exact same move that Ted Grant had used and taught her years earlier. And like her mentor, she had her fist inches away from her student's face, as soon as Thea hit the ground.

"Fighting is about adapting to the unexpected."

Thea grinned, before adopting a faux-scared demeanor. "Well, can you back off a little? You're scaring me."

Both girls grinned as Laurel helped her sister up to her feet. "We have been going at this for most of the day." She then checked her watch. "I have a bit more paperwork before I have to shower and do our night job."

Thea's mouth dropped. "You mean?" She noticed Laurel smiling.

"First official night on the streets? Yep."

The younger girl jumped and pulled her surrogate sister into an embrace. "I promise, that I will make you proud."

"Make yourself proud," Laurel said, calmly. She then smirked. "Time to see if I'm a good teacher."

"I know you are," Thea said assuredly.

* * *

 

It was Thea's first night suiting up. Her suit, like her sister's, was essentially the same, except where Laurel wore a protective wig and mask, Thea wore a dark golden hood and a black mask, and instead of a cry and a baton, she had a bow and a quiver of arrows.

They were both on a rooftop, standing next to each other. Not as a hero and sidekick, nor as mentor and student, but as partners, as equals.

As they were monitoring the city, they heard over the radio that Quintin had given his daughter to unofficially assist the police. A gunshot was reported and the police were chasing the criminals on foot.

A small group of thieves was trying to evade their pursuers. During the escape, one was tackled by a cop. Only for the officer to end up at gunpoint.

The criminal then was swiftly pulled into the darkness of the adjacent alley and was knocked out.

As the cop walked closer to the alley, he saw a figure dressed in black with a golden hood, as she climbed her way up the fire escape. She had left the runaway thief zip-cuffed to a steel bollard.

Speedy grabbed her radio as she ran across the rooftops. "Canary, this is so cool. I just saved a police officer."

In a nearby restaurant, the Black Canary grabbed one of the runaway criminals and proceeded to punch him in the face and disarm him, before tying the man to one of the legs of the closest kitchen bench. She then turned and faced one of the kitchen staff members. "Call 911."

She then pursued the other two criminals. As she heard her sister on the Comms. "Careful, Speedy."

"I thought I told you to call me Golden Archer, or Artemis."

She preferred Artemis, that way she would be similar to Laurel and her sister's mentor, who both took on animals as their name. Artemis was the god of the hunt and of wild animals.

"That seems tacky. And you will always be Speedy to me." Black Canary responded with a hint of teasing lacing her tone.

Speedy eventually found the last two men evading arrest. She pulled out her bow and arrow as the man tried to hijack a car. She fired and hit the man in the shoulder and caused him to hit his head on the windscreen, knocking him out.

She jumped down to the driver. "Call an ambulance and wait for the cops to pick him up." The middle-aged woman nodded quickly and pulled out her phone. While Speedy ran off following her sister who had continued to pursue the final assailant.

Black Canary followed the man and his hostage into an indoor basketball court.

The woman was pleading for someone to save her for, anyone to help her.

"Shut up bitch! Or I will blow your brains out!" The thug threatened his hostage, who was being roughly manhandled, as she sobbed.

It was then that a high pitch sound emanated through the court and destroyed all the lights. The man shot his gun from the location the sound had come from.

Then in the darkness, he saw the silhouette of his pursuer. The infamous Black Canary. She walked slowly towards the duo. She all of a sudden darted out and grabbed his wrist and twisted it, relieving him of his firearm. She then sent a round-house-kick to knock the man out and then she quickly escaped to a nearby rooftop.

Speedy and Black Canary watched as the SCPD stormed the indoor sports center and took the unconscious man into custody, and later led out a distraught woman with a silver blanket around her.

Speedy looked over to her sister who was panting. "What now?"

"We go home, have a shower and get ready for tomorrow, I have been planning something. A small business retreat to Central City."

Speedy snorted. "Somehow, I doubt that spas and massages are in our future."

* * *

 

Once they had reached Central City, Thea followed Laurel to an old ratty gym, that looked very similar to the one that they had been using since just before her sister took down Brick.

Laurel didn't even knock, she just walked into the gym and straight into the back office, as if she owned the place. Thea just remained close behind her sister. Despite her becoming accustomed to walking through a gym, she had not yet become used to the smell of stale sweat.

They eventually found a middle-aged man sipping coffee cleaning and maintaining an assortment of weapons, from nunchucks, knives, bows, clubs, knuckle busters, and swords.

"Wow, you have a nice arsenal of toys," Thea said in amazement, spotting a small arsenal of weapons, some she knew, and others she didn't.

Ted kept his head down, wiping some oil on one of his brass knuckles. "These." He said with a jerk of his head to the assortment of weapons. "Are not toys, they are weapons."

Laurel then tapped her mentor on the shoulder and dramatically cleared her throat. He looked up in surprise. "Dinah?"

Thea crinkled her nose at the name. "Dinah?" She can't even remember when Laurel had ever been called by that name, it has always just been Laurel. Just Laurel. She still recalled when Laurel first met her parents, Moira had tried to call her that and was quickly corrected by Laurel, herself.

Laurel rolled her eyes. She had long given up correcting the man. "Hey Ted, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

"That's what friends are for. What can I do you for?" He asked as he placed the busters on the table and took a sip of his coffee, eyeing his former student and friend with curiosity.

Laurel walked over and behind her sister, and slightly guided Thea forward. "This is my new partner in crime, and my baby sister. I was hoping that you could help her out. Find out what suits her the best."

The former Marine smirked, as he bobbed his head in agreement. "That I can do. Where will you be?"

Laurel simply smiled and gave a nonchalant shrug. "Around. I have to meet someone." She then left, leaving Ted and Thea in the gym.

He stood up and carried his coffee and walked past Thea. When she didn't follow, he called out to her. "You coming, Dinah's sister?"

The young woman ran out to find no one around. Then all of a sudden, she felt someone grab her from behind. She panicked for a few seconds before she spun around, using her shoulder to dislodge his grip and was prepared to deliver a strike to her attacker's face.

She stopped a few inches from Ted Grant's irritatingly smug face. "What the hell?"

He shrugged as he walked over to recover his coffee, seemingly amused by the test. "Had to see if Dinah actually saw potential in you or was just picking up a stray, or was feeling a bit nepotistic. She certainly didn't disappoint." Thea huffed as she followed the man, wondering how Laurel could tolerate the man.

He seemed the antithesis of who Laurel would associate herself with.

He then directed her to a pair of old plastic chairs. Once they were seated, he stared at her for a few uncomfortable seconds, as if he was evaluating her. "You're not related to Dinah." He finally said, breaking the awkward silence.

Thea then returned the smug grin he had given her earlier, it provided her with a slither of revenge. "Never said I was."

It was Ted's turn to smirk. "Clever girl." He said with a slight chuckle and a look of pride on his face. "She was always a clever one. She called you a sister, and yet you are of no relation."

He then recalled what he once told Laurel.

"Family is more than what's in our blood. It's about people who care and take care of each other."

Always the lawyer, playfully using his own words against him.

"Nope. But I have known Laurel for most of my life. My brother and she were together for a while before…"

Ted was silent for a few long moments. The petite girl in front of him was; Casanova's sister. He would have to hold his tongue about her brother, for Dinah's sake.

Thea felt as if she said the wrong thing to Laurel's friend and mentor. It was a strange concept, Thea never felt like she had to censor herself around Laurel, nor, her friend Jo, before she was murdered. Hell, even Lance had warmed up to her and accepted her.

But this guy was different, she had expected someone bubbly or someone similar to Laurel, not a gruff old man, who judges her based on her blood. On her family. On Ollie. She unknowingly found herself clenching her fist.

"Before the Gambit." He finished for her. "You're Thea Queen." He finished for her; his voice became firmer and his Icey blue eyes were locked on her.

Thea gulped; this is certainly not how she expected when she met Laurel's mentor. The man that Laurel saw as something akin to an uncle, a man that she admired. The man that had helped Laurel guide Laurel through her hardships in the last five years.

The look Ted Grant was giving her, was the look she had seen many times in her youth, whenever Quintin had seen her brother close by.

Her eyes darted around to see if Laurel was watching. She was hoping this was some kind of sick joke. "Yeah, and you…"

He took another sip of his coffee, still watching her every movement. "I helped Dinah with her rage and grief. To do that she had to trust me and tell me what was weighing her down."

Thea nodded but felt uncomfortable. The only thing she knew about this man in front of her was that Laurel trusted him and that he owned this gym.

"So, what brings Little Miss Queen to live the life in the muck instead of living in her ivory tower, with platinum spoons?"

Thea bit her cheek in annoyance. What was this guy's problem with her?

"Laurel saved my life. Both as the Black Canary and as herself. I asked her to train me so that I could help her and protect her as she does for me. That's what family does!"

Ted gave her a softer look, before nodding his approval. Her love and respect for her surrogate sister must have slightly changed his perception of her. "A noble goal." He then left to grab some weapons. "What previous training do you have?"

"A few months of training with Laurel, I also do archery and I recently quit fencing."

Ted looked over his shoulder and motioned her to come over to him, with a slight jerk of his head. "What has Dinah taught you?"

"Mainly Boxing, Savate and other things like weapons training and holds, grappling and throws." Ted hummed, acknowledging Thea's answer. "Oh, I was out in the field as well, and has started The Marine Corps fighting techniques."

"I suppose that it's time to see what Dinah is like as a teacher." He cracked his neck, as he moved towards the table near the boxing ring and through her some boxing gloves and picked up a pair of focus mitts. "Down the hall, to the left are the changerooms." She nodded and started walking to the changerooms.

She heard him calling out after her. "None of that fancy yoga crap either. If you need training gear, I've got some."

She hollered back. "Already came prepared, Grant."

* * *

 

Laurel walked over to STAR Labs to find Caitlin and Cisco working on some sort of technology. As she walked over to them, Caitlin smiled. She walked up to her friend and savior. "What brings you here?"

Laurel gave a small calming breath. "I am taking on your advice about being more careful and less reckless. Our mutual friend has found someone who can ground her and look out for her. But she needs a suit that can protect her. I don't want this one to endure what the Canary of Starling City had to endure."

Caitlin nodded, as Cisco walked over. "Who's your friend Caitlin?"

Laurel held out her hand to shake his hand. "Laurel Lance, and you are?"

"Cisco Ramon."

Laurel smiled. Working dual identities was a strange thing to behold, Laurel Lance the attorney never met Cisco Ramon, but Black Canary had. As amusing as this was, she mentally noted that she would have to remember who has come into contact with either the Canary or her.

"Caitlin told me that you have made a protective suit for the Black Canary."

Cisco looked hesitantly at his friend before looking back at the lawyer. "And if I did?"

"Our mutual friend would like you to create another suit for someone else." She noticed that Cisco still didn't look convinced. "CNRI worked with The Canary of Starling City during Brick's Gang War. She then pulled out one of Thea's hoodies that Laurel had given her sister, only with Wild Cat's logo removed. "In this sort of design, and with the same, if not more protection you gave The Canary."

She would ensure that if Thea were to go out into the field, she would adequately be protected. She seemed to take fighting like a duck to water. At least, she could rest a little easier knowing that she was going to be well equipped. Both in fighting and with the best protection Laurel could find and trust.

Cisco then took the measurements. "I can do something with this. Tell our mutual friend to give me a few days."

Laurel started to walk away before she looked over her shoulder. "Canary said that her partner likes red."

* * *

 

Laurel returned to Ted's gym to see Thea sparing with Ted. She silently walked over to one of the pillars and leaned against as she watched her sister and her friend fight.

Thea was maintaining her distance from her foe, sending the occasional roundhouse kick or jabs at Ted before backing off.

She noticed her mentor's amusement at Thea, who avoiding his attempts to grapple. "Come on Girlie, stop dancing and fight."

Thea gave a shirk nod of the head before she stood at the ready, her fists close to her face and chest.

Grant chuckled. "Let's dance."

Each part received and traded jabs and blows before Ted pulled her and tossed her over his shoulder.

Laurel watched as Thea, jumped back to her feet before delivering a sweep kick to Ted, sending him to the ground.

Ted turned his head to see Laurel observing the spar. "And only in a few months?" He asked with surprise.

Laurel smiled and nodded. "She already has had training in archery and fencing. Her family can afford the best trainers."

Ted smirked. "Following in my footsteps huh? Finding a lost girl, who needed guidance and already possessed both the moxie and foundation to learn how to fight?"

Thea was helped up by Ted, who was still grinning. "You did good, kid. Took Dinah a while to learn to avoid being dazed after being thrown."

Thea smirked. "Maybe cause, Laurel constantly tossed me over her shoulder."

* * *

 

Laurel walked into STAR Labs to see Cisco waiting for her in the lobby. "Ms. Lance." He greeted.

"Mr. Ramon."

Cisco smiled as he handed her a lightweight steel briefcase. "I made our mutual acquaintance's partner's suit. I incorporated some high-density mesh along with the Kevlar weave to make it stronger and less prone to wear and tear."

Laurel opened the case and gave a knowing smile. Thea will love this. "I appreciate the assistance. I will be sure to tell her that you were invaluable."

Cisco preened. "I also have a new suit with the same sort of protection in the works for Starling's Canary. It will take a while for the materials to come in though. And I also provided her with a ranged weapon, that is a lot quieter than her scream, bolas. This weapon will have high tactile strength in the cord."

"You didn't have to Cisco."

He handwaved her words. "She saved Caitlin, and stopped The Gang War in Starling."


	2. Return of Oliver Queen

**Lian Yu.**

Oliver was walking along the beachhead carrying a small crate with his friend, Anatoly. "Go over the plan again."

He had to ensure that the plan was to go smoothly, that every cog moved when it should.

Anatoly groaned. "Oliver, I'm not nearly drunk enough to forget the plan." He then noticed his brother's face and repeated the plan for what felt like the umpteenth time. "I leave you here, in a few hours, return to the mainland, and find fisherman and pay him to circle this island in a weeks' time."

"Good."

Anatoly sobered. "I also have a favor to ask."

"Name it, Anatoly." He owed this man a lot.

"Your hometown, Starling City,  _Da_?"

Oliver smiled. "It is." His mind drifted not to the cityscape, but to his family, friends, and Laurel.

"I was reading Gregor's old reports from the past year. "Our distribution was cut off. Good men killed. The only thing we heard from our men was:  _Kanareyka_. She brought shame to our brothers, not something that is easily forgiven."

Oliver gave a curt nod of his head. The last thing he wanted to do upon arriving was hunting down this Canary woman, he had his own crusade. He had to ensure that he cleaned up his family's legacy, make things right. If he didn't who would?

"Anatoly…"

Anatoly silenced his brother and spoke. "When brother is hurt, what do his brothers do?"

"Avenge their brother," Oliver repeated their mantra with resignation.

Anatoly slapped him on the back and chuckled. "She can be dealt with after you get yourself reacquainted with family, of course."

* * *

Laurel walked into Ted's gym to see Thea and Ted finding the best bow, arrows and other weapons suited to Thea.

"But I have my own bow…" Thea said, slightly annoyed at the older man.

"One that is linked to Thea Queen. One of these will be linked to… What's your codename?"

"Speedy," Laurel answered before the younger woman could answer. As she did, she gave her little sister a smug grin.

Thea groaned. "Worst name ever!"

Eventually, Thea was given a dark red and black bow, with arrows that had matching fletching, along with a short sword as a sidearm.

Thea was twirling her sword in her hand, getting used to the feel and weight of the weapon, as Laurel approached. "Looks like Ted gave you, your own little arsenal."

Thea sniggered, as she sheathed her blade. "No kidding."

Ted looked up from storing the weapons back into their respective cabinets. "She wanted to have sais, told her to work with a sword first. Her smaller stature means she would be better initially, at least, with something with more reach."

Thea scoffed, as she adjusted her quiver's straps around her chest. She then mumbled under her breath so only Laurel could hear her. "And I thought you were stubborn, Laurel."

Laurel lightly snorted as she handed her a metal briefcase. "The final gift of the vacation."

Thea opened it to see a suit that was red at the top, before eventually becoming black by the time it reaches the boots.

"Laurel…" Thea wiped some tears from her eyes. "This is too much. You have done so much for me in the last year. I can't accept this, I'm happy with my hoodie and one of your spare masks."

"No.," she said firmly. "You want to work alongside me; I need to know that you are well equipped and that means more than just weapons but also armor."

Laurel wouldn't hear anything else about the suit. Thea joined her because she believed that sisters protected each other, well this was her way of protecting her baby sister. She would always go the extra mile for her family. For the people she loves.

Thea launched herself into Laurel hugging her, and thanking her multiple times.

* * *

As Thea was organizing the proper paperwork Laurel needed for the Adam Hunt case, she was listening to the TV reporter.

" _The Black Canary and her partner in red have recently taken down a drug trafficking ring in The Glades. Witnesses and local residents of the area have affectionately named the female crime-fighting duo, as; The Birds of Prey. Due to the fact that they prey on those who commit injustice..."_

Thea smiled with pride, the city was noticing the aid that, she and Laurel provided. The only issue of explaining to her mother why she had developed bruising or cuts and scrapes. So, she told her mother that she had opted to take Krav Maga classes with Laurel. Which wasn't far from the truth, The Marine Corps Martial Arts Program had bits of Krav Maga in it.

Her mother didn't seem ecstatic about her taking up self-defense classes, but between her and Laurel, they managed to concoct a story that seemed believable and her mother bought it. The story was that; she and Laurel had to learn self-defense due to their personal safety concerns, regarding in their line of work.

Only her mother believed that Laurel meant, working as an attorney and Thea as something between a paralegal and an office manager.

Thea received a phone call from Walter, as she mused that the media have only ever acknowledged her as either The Archer, Woman in Red or Black Canary's partner.

Thea grabbed her phone and answered. "Thea Queen."

"Thea, I have good news for you." Her stepfather's voice answered.

"Yeah?" She asked as she continued to ruffle papers around, highlighting passages that Laurel needed for their case.

"Your Mother wanted you to know before the public. Thea, Oliver has been found. Your Mother wishes for you to be at the mansion before your brother is sent home from the hospital."

Thea wiped tears from her eyes and cleared her throat. Her brother was alive. Ollie was alive. "I'll be right there." She then hung up her phone and sprinted to Laurel's office. And knocked on the door and leaned in. "Sorry to interrupt, Laurel." She then saw her sister with a client.

Laurel looked up from discussing something with their client.

"I have a family emergency."

Laurel looked towards her sister with growing anxiety building in her chest. "Is everything ok?"

Thea nodded. "Yeah, I'll tell you about it later." With that, Thea left the office feeling ecstatic that her brother was alive, but a sliver of guilt for misleading Laurel. Her sister in all but name.

* * *

Thea waited next to Walter as they heard the town car pull up. Walter had gently put his arm around his step daughter's shoulders. "You ready to see Oliver?"

She nodded and wiped away the tears. "I've got my brother back."

Walter gave her a sympathetic smile. "Just remember what I said. He has been through a lot. He may not be the same boy; you remember from when you grew up."

Thea nodded, as she recalled how she learned a similar lesson with Laurel, last year.

Laurel had been reforged in her grief and tempered by Ted Grant. Gone, was the over-idealistic and wide-eyed girl. The woman who returned was firm, tough, yet, fair and compassionate.

As Oliver walked in, Thea noticed he looked like a fish out of water. It was to be expected due to him living on an island for five years, but nonetheless, it was still a strange and sad sight to behold. A man feeling alien to the environment he grew up in.

Walter walked over to Oliver and shook his hand. "It's damn good to see you."

Oliver looked at him with curiosity. "It's Walter." The older man stated carefully.

Oliver nodded. He then saw his sister; she had cut her hair to just above her shoulders. "Hey, Sis."

Thea ran over to her brother and embraced him. "I missed you so much."

"You were with me the whole time." He whispered into her ear.

* * *

Laurel sighed as she had just finished interviewing clients and dealing with paperwork for her case with Hunt. She walked out of her office and into the lobby. She turned on the TV as she dropped lazily on the office sofa. As she flicked through the channels, she wondered if Thea was alright.

She seemed to have been wearing a strange emotion that Laurel couldn't figure out.

It was then that she found a news channel that caught her eye.

It had a picture of Oliver Queen.

" _The Queen's Gambit was last heard from more than five years ago. Mr. Queen has confirmed to the authorities, that he was the lone survivor of the tragic accident that took the lives of seven people, including his father and local resident Sara Lance, survived by her sister, Laurel…"_

Laurel turned off the TV and walked into her office, grabbing her gym clothes and left the office for her gym. Well, at least she knew Thea was alright, and what that family emergency was about.

She didn't know if she was happy that he was back home and safe, or if she was mad as all hell that he had returned. More than likely, it was something in between.

* * *

Thea left an hour after Oliver had left the table. As she left the table, Tommy walked her out. "How is Laurel holding up after finding out?"

Thea bit her lip. "I, uh… I didn't tell her. She was with a client and we had a lot of work for her case."

Tommy shook his head. "You should have told her. She may not have been happy, but Thea, she took you in and put you on the path you are now. Helping people, working a steady job. She has helped you keep clean."

His voice then lowered to a whisper. "She has been a far better role model than either of your parents, Ollie or even me. Hell, Thea, I saw Detective Lance watching you two with pride when you two were in court taking down Daniel Brickwell."

Thea nodded as she folded her arms, she had never seen Laurel's father show her or any of her family, that sort of emotion before she and Laurel had become close. "I know, it's just…" She sighed. "If she knew, she would either storm in here and raise hell, or storm off to that ratty gym and spend hours there hitting a heavy bag instead of working. And our clients need help, Tommy. She needs to help these people and not just for their sake, but also for hers."

Tommy frowned as he patted her shoulder. "I just don't want you to lose the angel on your shoulder, Thea."

Thea then left and found her sister in the old gym. She had a sense of déjà vu. Only instead of someone coming back from the dead, Jo had just been buried. Perhaps, her friendship with Laurel was now dead and buried, after all, she had lied to Laurel, about Ollie returning home.

"Laurel?" Thea asked as if Laurel was a caged lion, ready to strike at the slightest provocation.

The lawyer continued to hit the hard bag, the chain holding the bag was rattling. "What do you want, Thea?" Her voice held none of the mirth that she had in the past few months.

Thea's stomach dropped. Laurel knew that Ollie was back. She squeezed her eyes shut and prayed that she hadn't lost her sister. Tommy was right, as much as she loved Oliver, Laurel was just as important in her life. The big sister she never had.

She hoped she hadn't thrown it all that out the window, due to her excitement of Ollie's return. She still needed her big sister in her life, just as much as she needed her brother.

"You know, don't you?" Thea asked quietly, despite seeing the evidence of her sister's frustrations on the old punching bag.

Laurel stopped punching and used her teeth to remove the wraps from her hand and wrist. "Know what?" She asked rhetorically. "That your brother is alive and well?"

Thea nodded sullenly. "I did it to protect you. We have a big case with Adam Hunt and all those other pro-bono works that we have going."

Laurel nodded. She knew she couldn't fault Thea for not informing her, she didn't like it but she understood. "How is he? Ollie?"

"Cold and distant," Thea replied as she remembered the awkward dinner.

"That makes sense considering he was shipwrecked on a deserted island." Laurel justified as she grabbed her towel and patted down her face and arms.

"You're not mad?" Thea asked, as she carefully watched Laurel move around the dingy gym with ease as if she could navigate the gym blindfolded.

"Annoyed that I had to find out on the television. But no, Ollie doesn't define our friendship. You're still my sister, my paralegal and my partner for  _other_ things. If you still want to?"

Thea grinned as she embraced her sister, muttering her apologies.


	3. The Man in The Hood

Oliver, after enduring the uncomfortably formal dinner with his mother, Walter, Thea, and Tommy, woke up with the intention of handing his sister a gift.

He walked into her room to see an empty bed that looked as if it hadn't been used in months. He then walked out to the dining room to see his mother. "Where's Thea?"

Moira sipped her tea, as she observed her beloved son. "A year ago, she started a business venture with Laurel. She often spends the night over at her apartment, to work on their legal practice."

Before he could utter a word, Tommy then ran into the room. "You ready man?"

"Yeah."

As they were speeding down the streets, the streets of the Glades were still being repaired after Black Canary's war with the Bratva and Brickwell. It reminded Oliver of what he had promised Anatoly, that he had to kill Black Canary.

Tommy bragged about his sexual exploits, as they sped down the roads. "And I intend on a similar target-rich environment, only with my wingman back in his saddle."

Tommy then stopped in front of the old Queen Steel mill. "Why did you want to see this place anyway?"

Oliver stared at the old mill. "No reason."

"So, what did you miss the most? Steaks at The Palm? Pasta at that fancy exclusive Italian restaurant? Drinks at The Station? Meaningless sex?"

Oliver shook his head. "Laurel." It was always Laurel.

Tommy shook his head in pity. "Ollie, everyone is happy your alive, and you want to see the one person that isn't?"

Oliver simply shrugged. He had a lot to make up for in regards to the woman, who had unknowingly saved his life countless times during his five years in hell.

"Alright man, but a word of warning. She's changed since you last saw her."

'That makes two of us.' Oliver thought.

* * *

Thea and Laurel were walking to their office, as Thea answered her phone and hung up a few minutes later.

"Hunt's Lawyers have filed a change of venue. We are now in front of Grell." Thea, then glanced up at the sky in an attempt to recall where she had heard the Judge's name. "Wasn't him, that your Dad's partner alluded to be in Hunt's pocket, last month?"

Laurel hummed in agreement. She was remembering when she and Thea had lunch with her father, and Hilton, to see if the SCPD had evidence on Hunt. Between her familial connections, and their steady stream of desserts, that were given to CNRI in lieu of payment, helped keep her and Thea in the SCPD's good graces.

"We will adapt, we always do." Laurel then froze as she saw Oliver sitting silently and patiently on one of their couches, as if he was a potential client, awaiting legal consultation.

Oliver smiled slightly, as he stood. It was the first time he had seen Laurel in five years. Five years since he had seen Laurel in the flesh, that wasn't a worn photograph or a hallucination. "Hello Laurel, Thea."

Thea looked between them, noticing the tension between the two people she respected the most in the world. "I'll get us some coffee, Laurel." She then walked out and putting up a sign saying that they will be back in half an hour.

Oliver watched his sister leave, before focussing on Laurel. "You went to Law School. You said you would."

"Yeah, everyone is proud." She replied more forcefully than she intended. Seeing him alive, it brought up some unwanted and complicated concoction of emotions.

He wanted to say that he was, but he doubted she wanted to hear his opinions on the matter. "Tommy also mentioned that you left Starling for just over four years." He watched Laurel stiffen slightly. "Yeah, I needed a change in scenery."

Oliver didn't want to push, considering he was the one that caused her moving away from her father, the last of her blood family. "Adam Hunt is a big hitter." He said instead, changing the topic to calmer waters.

Laurel nodded. "He's not our first and certainly won't be our last."

Oliver looked at her with curiosity, he noticed that she kept implying that she hadn't done it alone, that she was a part of a team. "Who was the first?"

"Big hitter?" She asked in surprise. "Daniel Brickwell. Is that what you want to talk about after five years, my office's case history?"

"Not really." He answered as he idly brushed his fingers together. He had anticipated this being a hard reunion. He didn't realize how much it would hurt, how much Laurel endured, how he missed important milestones in Laurel's and Thea's lives.

"Then why are you here Ollie?" She asked as she watched him, he looked so lost. She supposed that it made sense, he did spend five years alone in the North China Sea.

He recalled both times Sara was pulled beneath the ocean. "To apologize, about Sara. I shouldn't have let…"

Laurel shook her head. "She made her own choice, Ollie. She chose to go on The Gambit with you." She then took a calming breath. "It took me so long to start moving on with my life after you and Sara betrayed me…"

This was certainly not what he wanted. He knew that she wouldn't forgive him just like that, but it still hurt nonetheless. Especially her dismissing his apology. "I'm so sorry, Laurel. I'm also sorry that the actions before—everything happened, lead you to believe that I cheated on you, with your sister. She— We never slept together."

Laurel looked at him, with a curious, yet, wary look. "What are you saying?"

Oliver gulped, as he remembered Sara being dragged under the water. "Sara, she had organized a last-minute backpacking trip across Asia. From what I remember, she had spoken to my dad about giving her a free voyage to China. We thought you and your family knew. I'm so sorry, Laurel."

She felt the wind escape her lungs. "Me too," She said softly. "But we can't keep dwelling on the past, we have to pick ourselves up and dust ourselves off" She then walked into her office and closed the door behind her and took a calming breath.

Oliver watched her retreat and knew she needed time. He wondered where she had found this philosophy of moving forward. And wished, not for the first time, that he could be with her, and comfort her.

Perhaps, Tommy was right, Laurel had become stronger, and less reliant on others. She definitely seemed more self-assured.

As Oliver walked out of CNRI's office, Tommy walked towards him. "I told you she had changed. She ran headlong against a guy that was corrupting Starling. In the process, she lost her friend and colleague."

* * *

Oliver had just set up his operations center after, he and Tommy had been kidnapped, and his mother then promptly forced him to have a bodyguard.

He looked over at monitor discussing Adam Hunt. He opened the book that his father had given to him, with the list inside. The list of Starling's criminals and the corrupt.

He saw two names. Adam Hunt and Daniel Brickwell.

He crossed out Brickwell's name and decided that he had to take out Hunt before Laurel or Thea were hurt and, to remove him from the list. He also made a note to research how Laurel managed to take out Brickwell.

* * *

Adam Hunt and his men were in a parking garage when an arrow flew past them taking out the lights.

Another arrow flew and killed a guard. The other guard was dispatched as he had put Hunt in the Town Car.

Hunt then was pulled out of the car and onto the ground, with the glass shards around him. "What?"

The green hooded archer jumped from the car roof and grabbed the man by his collar, lifting him up into the air. He then commanded Hunt to deliver forty million dollars into the designated bank account or he would take it and Hunt wouldn't enjoy the outcome.

* * *

After Oliver had just been named; Man of The Hour, at his welcome home party, he saw Laurel standing near the back door. He proceeded to walk over to her, uttering his thanks to people who he passed by.

He eventually opened the door, and Laurel followed him out to the corridor. She had been feeling guilty for what she had said earlier. It was unfair and cruel.

"Ollie, I just wanted to apologize for the way I acted the when you came to visit me. I let my anger get the best of me."

Oliver brushed his hand against hers. He had missed the warmth of her skin. "If I could have traded places with her, I would have."

Laurel nodded and played with her overcoat, that she was holding. "About Sara…" She took a deep breath. "I have been struggling with this for a while, and I need to know, did she suffer?"

"No." was his immediate reply.

She exhaled. She was grateful that her little sister hadn't suffered. She had accepted years ago, with the help of Ted, that some questions would never be answered. And, sometimes it was better if she didn't dwell on it. But Ollie had given her closure.

"I think about her every day." She revealed without thinking much, that was part of the reason she had fallen in love with him. That she felt she could be honest with him, that she felt safe with him to not have to filter her thoughts.

Oliver nodded. "Me too."

Laurel then touched her pendant. The pendant that Oliver had bought for her for their anniversary, almost half a year before The Gambit sunk. The small black bird on a golden medallion. The inspiration for her name at night.

"Looks like we still have something in common." She said, in an attempt to mend bridges.

Oliver then smiled softly at her. "We also have Speedy. I heard that you have been looking out for her."

Laurel returned the smile. "She's been a godsend for the last year." She then looked into his blue eyes, searching to see if she could see the sweet boy she once knew. "I can't believe I'm gonna say this, but if you need to talk, I'm willing to listen."

She was willing to let the past stay in the past, and offer him a hand of friendship, in spite of their troubled history.

Oliver then received a message on his phone. He sighed; he didn't want to leave her as they were reconnecting. "I have to go. I asked someone to do something for me, but they didn't." He then looked at the woman he loved and he hated that he had to break her heart to keep her safe from the life he has been living the past five years.

He shut his eyes forcefully and sighed, before looking into her eyes. "Laurel, you always saw the best in me. And now you're doing it again, you're wondering if the island had changed me somehow, it didn't." He watched her clench her fists and blink away tears. He hated how he had to do this. "Stay away from me. Or I'm gonna hurt you again."

Laurel took a few steps towards him. Controlling her tears. He didn't deserve seeing her tears. "You know what Oliver? You're wrong. Before the island, you would have slept with me and behind my back slept anything that moved. At least you now have the honesty to tell me that you're a bastard."

She then stormed off. She felt both relief and guilt at her how she felt. He hadn't deserved such a hostile response from her after returning back to civilization, but he had started his _Game of Hot and Cold_  with her. A dance, she no longer wanted a part of.

She was no longer going to be taken for granted by Oliver.

She had to hit someone. She took a cab to her place before putting on her suit to leave.

After taking out a group of muggers harassing tourists, she heard over her radio about a B&E and multiple homicides at Adam Hunt's building. She took her motorbike and made her way to the location.

* * *

She saw her father talking to Hilton just outside the lobby of Hunt's building. She waited in the shadows, until her father eventually saw her, and made his way over to her. He walked over to an alcove and directed her to follow.

"I thought you were near Starling Bay?" Her father said, as his eyes watched for any wandering eyes.

Laurel turned off her modulator but spoke with a low voice. "Yeah, I took out a couple of guys trying to mug a couple of tourists."

Her father's lips upturned slightly. "Where's your partner?"

"She's busy." She quickly said.

"Likely at Queen's Welcome Home Bash." He said with a slight snort.

Her lips moved, but she didn't say anything. Did he already know Thea was working alongside her?

Her father shook his head, with a small smirk, and continued to talk softly to others couldn't overhear. "Suppose it makes sense that she eventually joined your nightly patrols. She always looked up to you, and since you took her under your wing, you've both been joined at the hip." He smirked again. "No pun intended,  _Ms. Canary_."

Laurel smiled back at the jest. "I'm sure." She retorted playfully.

"You two have really gotten close since then waded through Brickwell's corruption, Joanna's death. She's really become a diligent and driven woman, like someone else I know." He gave her a knowing look.

Rather than feeling pride at her father's compliment, Laurel sobered, at the thought of Joanna. "Need any help with what happened? Hunt was ready for trial in a few days."

Lance shook his head. "This guy" He pointed at Hunt's building. "The Man in The Hood, he's likely former special forces or something. He ripped through Hunt's guards and evaded us. He is lethal with a bow and arrow. And he wears green."

She nodded, as she mentally noted down what her father said. "Any suspects on our Robin Hood?"

Her father gave her a sympathetic look. "Only one right now, and it's circumstantial at best. Baby, it's Queen."

She felt her brows furrow. "Ollie was never in the special forces."

"I know, but we have no idea what he had to do on that island. No one, but he truly knows who was on the island with him, and what he had to do to survive." He sighed as he noticed his daughter, give him a disbelieving look. "The timing matches, he returns and this Hood Guy appears. Reminds me of a certain  _Woman in Black_  situation. She returns back home after years away and has learned the ancient ways of martial arts."

"Using me as precedent?" She scoffed. "Dad, this is Ollie, a guy who sleeps with models and crashes expensive cars for a living."

He raised his hands. "I'm just going where the evidence and my gut leads me."

She quirked her brow at her father. She knew that this wasn't the time to air her grievances, but she had to get her father to see reason.

"Ollie didn't kill Sara." He had the grace to look at the floor. "He didn't cheat on me with her either. Sara—She told Robert that we all knew about her making a spur of the moment decision on her, backpacking around Asia." She said, recalling Oliver's remorseful emotions leaking from his voice and his face. "Robert took her on The Gambit. Not Oliver."

"Laurel, I—" He stammered.

"At least, give him the benefit of the doubt. If not for him, then for me, or the third daughter you managed to all but adopt." She said, with a small smile, thinking of Thea.

"Alright." He reluctantly said. "For you and Thea. For my girls."

Before she left, she looked over her shoulder to see her father. "Did you think I was in the special forces, initially?"

Lance sniggered. "Initially? No. You were a ghost after you started fighting out of the shadows, it was one of the theories though," He said. "Pike was adamant the for a while, you were a former or a surviving Marine."


	4. Birds of Prey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to thank all of you, who have left reviews or left their kudos. 
> 
> I would also like to reiterate, this is the sequel to Canary of Starling City, there are numerous cases of characters referring to incidents that happened a year prior to the events that occur in this fic. Namely, Laurel's journey to becoming Black Canary.

Black Canary and Speedy were watching from the small rooftop in the shadows, their eyes glued to the scene playing below them, on the banks of Orchid Bay, in The Glades.

"I got all you need, gents. Shotties; double barrel, over and under, side by side, the classic pump action, and my personal favorite; the lever action." The dealer said with a smug smile, as he looked upon his small arsenal in the trunk of his car.

Speedy snorted as she listened to them argue and heckle for better arms or cheaper prices. The black-market dealer was buttering up his potential clients with praises. Calling them, badasses, or other similar expressions.

Speedy sniggered under her breath. "He chose the wrong career. He could easily have been a sales rep for QC."

Black Canary smirked at her sister's joke until she saw the deal heading south. "Follow my lead, Speedy. You take out the fleeing thugs. I will deal with your  _prospective sales rep_."

She then jumped, using her canary cry to shatter the windows, sending a few men to the ground.

Speedy followed in suit. She pulled out her arrow and shot one of the fleeing criminals in the calf, and quickly sent another arrow into the last fleeing man in his thigh. She then rushed over to them to zip tie them to the street lamps. "Why do they always want to run?" Speedy muttered to herself.

Black Canary took out one of the thugs then turned to see the seller, attempting to start his car's ignition. She ran over and pulled him out through the shattered driver's window and shoved him against the car, her baton shoved against his throat.

She leaned closer to him. As he smirked, as he looked her up and down. "Nice duds." He then looked over his shoulder to see her partner. "Heard you had a lackey." He said before addressing Speedy. "What should I call you?  _Her_ Quiver _?_ " He chuckled.

Speedy scowled, as she felt the immediate need to correct the man. "Her partner." She really did not like being called Quiver. Especially Laurel's she wasn't a tool for her sister to use. She is her sister, and they protect each other!

The blonde vigilante released her baton from the man's neck. "A rich one-percenter had his whole small army of guards massacred last night. Shot with arrows."

"I would feel sorry for him. Truly. But, the  _rich kid_  like that, I ain't shedding no tears for him." He sneered. "Besides, if you want to know about archers." He said nodding his head towards Speedy. "Your girlfriend in red, here, would know. Saw her shoot her bow."

Speedy stood beside her sister. "I use red arrows. The ones used were green." Both vigilantes noticed the scared look on the man's face. "Our Robin Hood has special forces training, and military grade weapons."

Speedy had heard from Laurel, according to her father, and the SCPD, Robin Hood had utilized flashbangs, when he fled the SCPD.

Black Canary looked the man dead in the eyes. "Who's the supplier, Highlander?"

Highlander, looked between Speedy and Canary, in both fear and surprise that they believed he was the one funding this, Robin Hood's crusade. "I don't know who is supplying him, I swear!" Black Canary grabbed Highlander's wrist and twisted it, hearing the bone break.

"Don't act like it couldn't have been you, who is funding Robin Hood. You were helping the Russian Mob, providing them Intel, and arms for B and E's. You're a freelancer, it's what you do."

"Ladies, the small cache in my trunk, couldn't be used to hunt small game."

As he raised his hand, towards his jacket, Speedy fired an arrow, pinning his hand to the car door. The man howled in pain. "Don't move!" Speedy ordered.

The man panted, between being held by Black Canary, and his other hand, pinned by Speedy's arrow he realized his only way to escape more injuries was to tell them everything he knew. "Alright." He wheezed. "Alright, I don't know anything about the archer..."

"But?" Black Canary pressed.

He gave a dry chuckle. "It's got to do with Brick."

Speedy watched, as her sister grabbed his wrist and held him in an armlock before she heard his arm break. A broken wrist, broken arm, and an arrow to his hand.

Black Canary growled in response. "Brick is gone. He's a none-threat."

"Yeah." He looked over his shoulder and looked at the blonde vigilante "But once you took out Baldy—" He panted. "There is this weird cold tension between the gangs. Bettinelli's, Los Halcones, The Triads, all of them."

Black Canary felt sick. Was this Robin Hood an anonymous hitman for one of these gangs? If he was, why did he return all that money to the innocent people who were hurt by Hunt's machinations? To lead the SCPD, her and Thea on a wild goose chase?

"He's an enforcer for one of the gangs? Perhaps, The Bratva, skimming Hunts till to make rise like a phoenix?" Canary asked, her mind coming up with hundreds of different scenarios and possibilities.

"Bratva?" Highlander mocked her suggestion. "Ain't no one heard from them, since you sent them running with their tails between their legs to lick their wounds." He chuckled. "Knowing them, they were called back to their Snowy Wasteland, they call home. Being beaten by a small girl is not good for their fragile ego."

Speedy moved closer to close the gap between her and Highlander. "Who then?"

"Don't know. But from what I've heard, some sort of Illuminati shit is scaring the hell out of the boy's calling the shots. They think that this  _Robin Hood_  is after the powers that be." He then pulled the arrow from his hand and cradled it to his chest. "I swear, ladies. It's all I know."

Black Canary leaned into the car and handed her hooded partner, the car keys, who dangled them in front of him mockingly.

"Come on, please. I answered everything you asked. And now, my arm is busted, and so is my hand. Not to mention the windows I have to replace because of your banshee wailing. Let me go, one good turn deserves another, right?"

Black Canary smiled, as the man in front of her begged for leniency.

"Come on, BC. I'm on parole, I will do better! C'mon, I missed Starling City and The Glades."

Black Canary chuckled. "Yeah, yeah. That may be so, but I can't say we missed seeing you." She then turned her head and nodded at Speedy.

The Red Archer attached the keys to one of her arrows and shot it into the depths of the polluted bay.

Highlander glared at the two women. "Wanna be stone cold bitches, fine. Because the three of us know, that I will be out of jail in…"

Black Canary slugged the Highlander upside the head, knocking him out. "Guess, we will see you in a few months then."

Speedy zip-tied him, along with the rest of the thugs. She then looked over at her best friend, as she opened all the doors of the car. "You don't have any issues with scum like him, escaping justice?"

Canary shrugged. "Every time he is let out, he has a chance to be redeemed. It's not perfect, but's it's what we have. It allows the criminal a chance at rehabilitation, even if a minute group of determined criminals who will play the system. It's better to give them that chance, then snuff out that possibility."

* * *

Oliver finished putting on his suit jacket as he descended the stairs, to the main floor of the mansion, as he did so, he heard a news report in the den. He found himself walking towards the room, spotting his mother watching the television.

" _For just over a decade, and a half, Mr. Redmond has withdrawn more than thirty-million dollars from the plan's account. Redmond's spokesman stated that it was always the intent of his employer's company to refund the Halcyon pension plan…"_

As he adjusted his cufflink, feeling like a fraud. He was no longer the spoiled rich playboy, and since his time in hell, he no longer felt at ease in the finest attire, he was expected to wear. He felt more at home in comfortable and practical clothes, or in his hood.

Oliver walked in to see, his mother, and stepfather, Walter, watching the news report. As he was about to turn his attention to the news report, a felt his hair raise.

He scoured the room either his eyes, until he noticed his little sister, silently, but casually, making her way into the den.

He wondered how she was able to sneak up on him. Was it him slipping? Was he already relaxing and unconsciously letting go of his gut instincts, when among family?

He dismissed the thoughts and noticed that like him, Thea had also opted to wear business, formal wear. He also noticed that she seemed to be favoring one leg, over the other. Before he could speak, the report caught his ear.

" _Some other anonymous sources refute Redmond's statement. They state that Redmond was coerced by The Vigilante. Who is not to be confused with The Birds of Prey…_

_The Black Canary, who aided The SCPD in dismantling a criminal organization headed by Daniel Brickwell, who was on a crime spree, that has never been seen since the likes of; Al Capone…"_

His mother scowled at the television. "People used to feel safe in Starling, before these people, these vigilantes like; Black Canary, The Archer and, now this man."

"What's the matter, Mom? Afraid,  _The Birds_  and this Robin Hood wannabe will be after us?" It was then, he noticed Thea quickly kissing her mother on the cheek, then patted Walter on his forearm, quelling any argument, as she spoke. "I have to get going."

Oliver's eyebrows rose, he had expected his entire family to be there when he was legally recognized as a living person. "You're not coming with?"

Thea's lips upturned as she quickly held him in her embrace. "I'll be at the courthouse, but I don't know if I can make the hearing."

Right.

Since he had been dead, for the better part of five years, Laurel had taken his place, his place as the older sibling. Despite, his feelings for Laurel, and how much he appreciated her putting his sister on a better path, he couldn't help but feel a little jealous. Even as he thought it, he knew he was being petty.

* * *

Laurel was walking with Emily Nocenti, her client, the woman whose interest she is protecting. As they entered through the back of the courthouse, she meets Thea, who is standing there at the entrance with three cups of coffee.

"I thought you could use a cup of coffee, Emily," Thea said as she handed their client a cup, and gave her a reassuring smile.

Laurel looked at her business partner and sister. She hadn't expected her to attend today's hearing. "I thought you would be with Oliver today?"

She shook her head. "I'll buy him a cake after he is legally resurrected." She then looked at her watch. "Crap. We should get a move on."

The three women walked through the court, avoiding the media that was present for Oliver, their high-profile case or both.

They rounded the corner with Laurel almost walking straight into Oliver, who seemed like he was about to gently stability stabilize Laurel, by holding her, but decided against it at the last moment.

"Hi…" Oliver said carefully as if Laurel was a wild animal, ready to tear him apart at a moment's notice.

"What are you doing here?" Laurel asked dumbly. She knew what he was doing here, she had just had a conversation with his sister about it.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed, Thea rolls her eyes, and Tommy is hiding a smirk.

"Oh, they were bringing me back from the dead, legally speaking. You?"

Thea scoffed. As Laurel noticed her and their client, walking past her and Oliver. "We will see you in a few minutes, Laurel."

"My job." She answered. She was wondering why Oliver seemed to be gentler than he was, a few weeks ago. It didn't matter, she was done, being taken for granted. "Now, if you will excuse me, Mr. Queen. I have a job to do." She said, as professionally as she could, as walked up to the stairs, and away from Oliver. Away from temptation.

* * *

Oliver watched as Diggle left, after being reprimanded by his mother. As he did, he saw Thea walking past.

"Where are you going?"

"Laurel's," Thea answered simply. "To do paperwork, for our case against Sommers, then a movie marathon, or train at the gym." She answered with a small shrug.

He smiled, proudly at his little sister, who had flourished from a rebellious teen to a confident and determined young woman. "I'm glad that you are doing something that Dad would be proud of. Something that I am proud of."

His sister gave him a sad smile. "So would Jo." Upon noticing his curiosity on his face, she answered. "She was Laurel's partner and co-founder of CNRI with Laurel. She… she along with Laurel gave me a purpose. She was killed by Brick because we were getting too close."

* * *

Laurel was photocopying some legal documents using the dinosaur of a machine, that Thea had given them over a year ago. Even after, the money that received from Mrs. Queen, that was primarily used, to pay their bills, and allow pro-bono work, the old office equipment had sentimental value for her and her baby sister.

As she watched the light, of the scanner, she heard Thea going preparing their client, Emily what the defense may say, how they would paint her as the bad guy.

It always amazed Laurel, how far Thea had come. When Laurel had returned home, Thea was a lost young woman, struggling to live through her addiction and depression.

Now, she was a blossoming young woman, who fought alongside her at night, and seemed to have a quick legal-political mind, which aided the young Paralegal, and by extension, CNRI.

As she was listening to Emily air her grievances, she saw her father enter the lobby, with a pair of officers. "Dad?"

Lance walked over to his daughter. "These guys will be looking after Miss Nocenti."

That piqued her interest. She directed her father, into her office, and closed the door. "What's going on?"

"Sommers. He's got his sights on you, Thea and Nocenti." Before she could argue, he kept talking. "I didn't put protection on you and Thea. I have seen what the pair of you can do, just keep your head on a swivel." He then added. "And my phone is always on. For both of you girls. And I will have a patrol or two make their rounds past your apartment, and near her mansion, to keep up appearances."

She felt her gut tell her that he wasn't exactly telling the whole truth. "It's not just Sommers, is it?

He shook his head, as he brushed his hand through his hair. "Sommers was attacked by  _The Vigilante._


	5. Black Canary vs The Hood

Laurel and Thea stood in front of the brick wall of the old dingy gym, in the early hours of the morning still dressed in their suits. They had just finished a recording; Quentin had just clicked off the camera.

"Think that will at the very least deter, The Vigilante?" Thea asked as she lowered her hood.

Lance shrugged, as she glanced up at the ceiling, silently praying that it would work. "I don't know. But having The Birds voicing their discontent with  _his_  bastardized brand of  _justice_ , and swearing he will be hunted down, at the very least will make the people of this city sleep a little better knowing their guardian angels are helping the SCPD."

Laurel pulled down her mask, letting it dangle from her neck. "How will this be sent to him? It's not like we have his address."

"I will discreetly send this to one of the SCPD's media liaisons, anonymously. They will air it almost immediately, The Birds and The Vigilante are currently one of the most contentious issues, they won't have a choice but to air it."

* * *

Sommers was sitting at his desk, as he ran his finger over the arrow hole, in his desk. After almost ten minutes, the woman he had called finally appeared.

"I appreciate that you arrived."

China White walked around the scaffolding. "Anything for a friend."

He scoffed. Friends? He doesn't have those. He just lets her and her Triads use his ports, for an exorbitant fee.

"If you want our business relationship to continue, you will take this archer more seriously. He makes Nocenti, look like a small fish."

"And who leads this charge? Nocenti's daughter? She picked up where her father left off. She's the problem." She smirked. "And, unlike The Hood. We know where she lives."

"No. You target her; Lance will never let it go. She will be like a dog with a bone. She won't stop until she burns all of us and our world to cinders, just as she did with Brickwell. No, and who knows if this Black Canary is still looking out for Lance and Miss Queen."

China White shook her head. "We do not fear,  _Sui Jerk Kai,_ nor her novice _._ She couldn't even kill Brickwell. We will kill Miss Lance." China White said with finality. "And then, if  _Sui Jerk Kai_  makes an appearance to defend her, one-time ally, she would be dealt with as well.

* * *

Thea walked from her room, on her way out, as she saw her brother, in his room without the door closed. She was going to ask him, if he wanted to have lunch together, like old times when she saw the scars littered across his torso.

It's kind of reminded her of, Laurel's scars, especially after she had almost been killed by that Ninja-Archer. While Laurel had scars, they paled in comparison to her brothers.

Between, Ted and Laurel, she has heard of or seen a variety of scars. Scars from Arrows, gunshots, glass, burns, and blades. And Ollie had all of them. Showing every scar, telling her how many times he had escaped death.

"Don't you knock?" He asked angrily, as she stared at his scarred body.

She shook her head, as she slapped his hands away to have a better look. "Mom said that there were scars…"

Not just scars, but tattoos that were never there. She had seen her brother running around shirtless after a bender more times than she could count, and they were never there before. A black star on his chest, and Chinese writing, where Laurel would have the long scar that reached from her navel to just pass her ribs.

Two of the people she loved and looked up to the most in the world, both had been forced to wear their scars, showing their hardships, failures, and losses.

Thea felt her eyes start to tear up. "Ollie… I know you went through hell. I can see it in your eyes, and it painted over your body. If you don't wanna talk to me about it… Then promise me something?" She asked, forcing the words out of her mouth, in spite of the raw emotions she was feeling for her brother.

His eyes met her's showing a mixture of embarrassment, pain, and curiosity. The three emotions, swirling for supremacy until he finally spoke. "Hmm, what?" He mumbled, his Adam's apple bobbing, showing that he was struggling to maintain his façade.

She held out her hand to him. He silently took it, as she led him outside to his and their father's graves. "I know, it doesn't really compare, but for the first four years… I had come out here almost every day to talk to you. About everything and everything. My crushes, Laurel leaving, news or movies that I thought would interest you."

She noticed his throat bob again. "I would often beg you to come home. Then last year, I—when all hell broke loose, with Brick and The Russian Mob's Gang Wars. I used you as a sounding board. Especially a day or so, after I was almost killed, and saved by the Black Canary." She then squeezed her eyes shut. "What I'm saying is, you gotta let someone in. I don't want to see your horrors eat at you from within."

She had heard both Laurel and Ted talk about guilt, anger, and depression. They said that people have to find a release, talking, fighting, helping others, it didn't matter. As long as it could be released or… _"From within, it devours."_ Laurel had said, recalling what Ted had said to her following the Gambit.

* * *

Oliver returned to his bunker, he flicked on the news as he started to do his push-ups, after an hour or so, he heard something that forced him to stop his training. And rush over to his laptop, to see a blonde woman, and a woman in red.

" _A few days ago, an individual known to the public and SCPD, as The Vigilante, has started to prey on others. This is something that cannot and will not be tolerated."_ Black Canary said glaring at the camera.

Oliver found himself gritting his teeth in annoyance. This Black Canary was forcing him to expedite her death. She was pointing the crosshairs at herself, instead of at the men and women on the list. And he would shoot the arrow, and kill her, even if she did save Thea a year ago from a drug dealer.

A few seconds later, the woman in red spoke.  _"This is a warning to Robin Hood, this is not your playground, and we don't tolerate criminals. If you continue down the path you have chosen, we will hunt you down, just as we did with Daniel Brickwell."_

" _We are the justice you cannot run from, and make no mistake, Robin Hood we will get you."_ Black Canary promised as the feed was cut off.

* * *

Laurel was sitting on her couch, as she was trying to find out more about this  _Hood._ From what she has put together, he was likely special forces, or received similar training, and is targeting the wealthy.

She hoped that he wouldn't target the Queen family, nor Tommy. But she knew that making that video, would either antagonize him to make a rash move or unlikely as it may be, make him reconsider his choice as a thief and a murderer. It was at this point, a knock on her door, interrupted her investigation.

She quickly closed her laptop, and swiftly closed the door to her office, before making her way to the door. As she opened it, she saw Oliver.

She exhaled. Here he was again, resuming their dance.  _Hot and cold._

"You Ok?" He asked. "Thea told me, that your father told you to keep your eyes open for potential backlash from Sommers."

Instead of answering, she fired back a different question back to him. "Quick question. How am I supposed to steer clear of you, if you keep coming to me?" He started to stutter for an answer, but she kept him on his toes. "What are you doing here Ollie?"

He gave a small smile at her using his nickname. "My sister, she pointed out that I've been distant? And that is because I'm fighting my demons alone. She advised me that it was probably a good idea to confide in someone I trust."

She was surprised that he trusted her. "If you trust me, then why did you…"

"I was trying to protect you." He answered, her unfinished question. "I was wrong to do so." He then looked down to his feet, before asking her. "Is that offer to talk, still on the table?"

He sounded so vulnerable, and before she could answer, he gave her a mischievous smile, "I brought ice-cream to sweeten the deal."

She laughed, as she moved to the side to let him into her home, as she went to retrieve a bowl and spoons.

After enjoying their dessert, Oliver sighed in contentment. "I missed this." He moved his arms around, signaling about the room, and the occupant sharing it with him. "And, this." He pointed at the tub of the dessert. "Was as good as I remember."

He tapped the side of the tub as if he was pondering what to say. "My mother, she wants me to join Queen Consolidated."

Laurel rolled her eyes, as Oliver smiled at her reaction. "Yeah, take my rightful place."

"I can't see you as the master of the universe." She said dryly.

"You know… After five years, I have things I wanna do, need to do…" He said, leaving Laurel slightly curious at what his plans were. The Oliver she knew before the Island, was spontaneous.

But then, she was as well, once.

Things change, people change.

She changed.

He scrunches his face as he continued. "I can't do that with briefings, meetings, and backroom politics."

She ate a spoonful of ice cream. "Oliver, you are an adult. You can say no." She then lowed the bowl into her lap. "Thea declined every one of your mother's incessant offers."

He gave her a look. "Oh, trust me. I tried. But you know my mother is very… Stubborn."

"Show don't tell." She said, which caught his attention. "Actions speak louder than words. Show her the person you want her to see you as." She then gave him a conspiratorial smirk. "Trust me, I have plenty of experience with disapproving parents."

Oliver chuckled, it made her heart flutter, at seeing Oliver with a genuine smile, and not the mask, nor the façade he puts up to protect himself.

"I have personally been at the brunt of your father's disapproval." He said with an arching brow, daring her to say otherwise.

"He blames himself, more than he blames you," Laurel told him and he turned his head from the empty table, back to her. "He thinks maybe if he and Sara were closer, she would have told him about the boat trip. And that he could have stopped her from going with you." She then gave him a pointed look. "He was the one to tell me about Thea, after her DUI. He wanted to help Thea avoid the mistakes, you and Sara made."

"I am sorry," Oliver said with remorse, and a hint of self-depreciation.

"You already apologized." She said immediately, without missing a beat.

"It'll never be enough."

They then gazed into each other's eyes, as the room returned to a comfortable silence. They both were finally making progress and were nearing to be on the same page as each other.

It the calming, relaxing silence was broken when a metallic sound broke them from their musings.

"You hear that?" Oliver asked quickly, his eyes darting around the room.

She loosened her muscles, and clenched her fist, as Oliver discreetly picked up a knife.

And, within a second, Oliver half dragged Laurel her towards the door, as the door was kicked down, revealing a large man with a firearm.

She wanted to stand her ground, but she couldn't risk Oliver's life in the process. So, she allowed him to attempt to find a way out, each of their potential sanctuaries, was manned by a gunman.

As they were about to head, towards her kitchen, she saw someone.  _China White._

Did she know, she was Black Canary? She quickly kept her mind on the situation at hand, she would deal with the fallout later.

Before she could fight, one of the Triad thugs was killed, as Mr. Diggle came in, his pistol at the ready to kill any and all threats. By his stature, and movements she could surmise he was a military veteran. He carried himself, not unlike Ted.

Diggle was taken by surprise, by China White. The two traded blows after she had deftly disarmed him. She sent a flurry of punches, and kicks to Mr. Diggle, before sending him to the ground. And brandished a knife, she was ready to kill him.

As she was about to use her cry, when, Oliver to her surprise, threw a kitchen knife at her blade, disarming China White. As strange as it was, she supposed that he had to become efficient with throwing knives and similar things in order to survive and hunt for food.

As Laurel rushed over to Oliver, he wrapped his arms protectively around her. She had to know that he was safe, so she returned the hug.

* * *

Oliver was at the foundry suiting up. He wanted to give Martin Sommers the chance to confess and face the courts, justice, just as Laurel would have wanted it. But as far as he was concerned, he squandered his chance at atonement, the moment he set his sights on someone he cared about instead.

He targeted Laurel. And that was something that he could not forgive. Would not forgive.

Sommers will still face justice; it would be a different kind, to what Laurel would give him.

* * *

After her father had assured her that one of his colleagues was a former carpenter and could fix her windows for a large discount in a few hours. She gave her dad a spare key before he left.

She then she ran to her office, and pulled out her trunk, and opened it. Her black leather-like suit was folded next to her sister's. Just above her suit, was her blonde wig and mask.

China White, The Triad came after her and put her friend in harm's way. A man that had been through more than his fair share of hell in the span of half a decade. A man who didn't deserve to be in the line of a firefight or danger.

For all she knew, Sommers' and The Triads attack on her, had set Ollie's recovery back. They would face justice. She would ensure that.

Sommers was going to understand that Starling City was not going to cower to the criminals and the corrupt.

As she put on her gear, she left her apartment, to head for the port that Sommers uses for his business.

As she made her way to the location, she turned on her radio, to listen to both the SCPD and Sommer's militia.

" _Wallace? Wallace, you copy?"_ A man asked over the radio.  _"Wallace?"_

She had just taken down a couple of sentries, as she heard a cold voice reply to the man over the radio.

" _Wallace isn't here. But I am."_

She knew that the only other person that was hunting someone like Sommers would be Robin Hood. She finally had a voice to put to the green hood.

Black Canary snuck up to a guard that was keeping his vigil, towards the east, where the gunfire was. She held the baton to his throat, and choked him, until he passed out, before advancing carefully into the port.

Before she could get farther, she heard her father shout a command at one of the perpetrators. She jumped up to the shipping container, hiding in the shadows, as her father had Robin Hood at gunpoint.

"You so much as twitch, and your dead!" The Hood became as still as a statue, as her father issued out more commands. "Bow down, hands up."

With the fastest reflexes she had ever seen, since the Ninja-Archer, Robin Hood threw a dart, disarming her father, she was about to jump down to defend him, to see Robin Hood fleeing in the opposite direction.

She quickly followed him, escaping, she used her cry, sending him tumbling across the rooftop.

As he got up to his feet. His hand twitched towards his dart, once again.

She ran up to him, delivering several strikes to the ribs before he retaliated.

They sent a flurry of punches, and kicks, neither, outmatching the other. He eventually caught her unaware and knocked her down with a sweep kick.

"Stay down!" He commanded as Black Canary blinked her eyes. No doubt, she was trying to regain her composure from hitting her head on the hard-tarred roof.

She stood up in defiance, ignoring the pounding sensation in her head. She didn't stay down for Brick, nor Al Sah Her! And she wasn't about to for this upstart either. "This city doesn't need people like you! I've been protecting this city before you even arrived."

He saw as his lips turned into an arrogant smirk, behind his hood. "Is that what you tell yourself at night?" The Hood sneered. " You keep the city safe? Just like you kept  _Joanna_  safe?" He then drew an arrow. "You and your student are no more than mascots for an underpaid and crippled police force!"

Canary froze. She didn't know how to react. She then thought of how this archer, was targeting the rich, he could turn his sights on Ollie, Thea or Tommy. She wouldn't let the past repeat itself.

"She died a hero. And the psycho who killed her is behind bars, keep up interfering with justice being achieved, and you will become Brick's cellmate."

"Unlikely." He aimed his bow at her. "I received your message earlier. Last chance. Back off!"

Black Canary gripped her nightstick and held it at the ready. "Make me."

He said something that sounded like Russian, then with extreme speed, he fired an arrow at her, the first, knocked her baton from her hand, sending it flying and down to the street below.

The first arrow was quickly followed by a second arrow, that penetrated her protective suit, and impaled into her shoulder.

The sheer force and surprise, caused Black Canary to stumble backwards, and unknowingly fall off the edge of the building and onto the lower adjoining building.

After she fell, she looked around, and everything was blurry, her ears were ringing, before she could clutch her head, The Hood stumbled towards her, clutching his side. As he reached her, he bent down and ripped her wig off before disappearing into the night.

After he had disappeared, she brought her hand to the back of her head and felt a warm sticky substance. She slowly brought her hand to her face, to see blood coating her fingers. She struggled to keep her eyes open, as she glanced down at the green arrow that was impaled in her shoulder.

She looked back at the moon before everything went black.


	6. Regroup

Thea was walking from her car to the office, she only had a few hours to help Laurel maintain their paperwork. She picked up her phone, that was ringing, it was Oliver.

" _Hey, Speedy. Have you seen Laurel, today?"_

"Nope. Why?"

"I wanted to invite her to the grand opening tomorrow, it would be nice to have you, Tommy and her there. Friendly faces in a crowd of strangers."

"I'll talk to her when we are in the office. See you soon, Ollie."

" _Thanks, Speedy."_

As she unlocked their office, she noticed nothing had been disturbed, she called Laurel's phone. Each and every call went to voice mail.

Thea's mind was racing, where was Laurel? Her thoughts kept coming back to the night she found her sister alone and bleeding in her apartment.

Thea raced to the roof to see if Laurel had made her way here via the rooftops before she searched the ones around her apartment. If Laurel still wasn't found, she would start opening the search perimeter and perhaps, recruit Detective Lance.

As she looked around, she saw, Laurel in her suit passed out on an adjoining roof.

Thea ran over to her and removed her mask. "Laurel!? Laurel!?" She gently slapped her cheeks to arouse her sister. Thea looked over her sister, with a broken arrow in her shoulder, as she gently pulled her up, she saw some scrapes and gashes on her back, and parts of her suit were worn and ripped from the impact.

She prayed that she wasn't too late.

_Please don't leave me, Laurel!_

"S… Speedy?" Laurel croaked, and Thea released an audible sigh of relief. She felt her shoulders sag in relief, that her sister had survived.

Thea nodded, as she saw the broken arrow in her shoulder, the shoulder that was not hit by Brick's archer.

Thea sighed in relief, and helped, Laurel into the office, and from the office, into her car.

* * *

Laurel woke up on her couch, with a sense of Déjà vu. She had been wounded from a fight with an archer, and retreated, only to have Thea find her bleeding out, or near dead.

"Speedy?" She called out, her head still ringing, and gently held her head.

Thea sat on the table, with a small scowl. "You left without me! I thought we were to look out for each other." She then handed her stubborn sister some pain relief medication.

She swallowed the aspirin, Thea gave her. "Sorry, Thea. The Triad attacked me, almost killed Ollie." She then croaked a self-deprecating chuckle. "Impulsive Laurel, never waiting for back up."

Thea's eyes lit up, at her brother's name. "He was here?"

Laurel nodded and winced at the movement. "We were talking, then The Triads…"

Thea nodded. Her eye's noticing the bruising around her temple, and the bandage around her shoulder. "They did this to you?" She asked softly, as she gently used her finger to brush a stray tendril of hair behind Laurel's ear.

She shook her head, slowly. "The Hood. He gave me an ultimatum; he was so fast… I couldn't react in time. He shot me, and I stumbled off the roof… I— He tore my wig off me and left me. After a while, I forced myself to the office, guess I didn't make it."

"Close, you made it on the roof, I helped you here. I patched you up. Had Caitlin on a video call." She then snorted. "Cisco should be here soon, with your new suit."

After Caitlin had told Cisco about her wound from The Hood, the nerdy man promised he would ensure that the Black Canary had just as much protection as her partner.

"Speaking of your new suit, what are  _we_  going to do about The Prick in Green?" Thea asked, her eyes not moving from her sisters.

"We—I need to recuperate first. And once I'm ready, we will take the opportunity available, and we will ambush him."

The room went quiet for a few moments before Thea broke the tense atmosphere by changing the subject. "Ollie was also calling for you." Laurel opened her eyes, to see Thea looking at her with a pointed look. "He wants some friendly faces there." She then teased her sister, a little. "Last night must have been some talk."

* * *

Later that night, while Laurel was resting, Speedy met Cisco in the dark parking lot, behind an abandoned bowling alley. He looked at her in a mixture of giddiness and fear. She turned on her modulator. "Mr Ramon."

Cisco nodded. "Yeah, I have a delivery for our mutual friend." He then opened the back of his car and pulled out a steel briefcase.

Speedy nodded, keeping her head down, and letting both the hood and shadows conceal her identity. "How's it different from her other one?"

"Uh, apart from looking atheistically different? I incorporated the same high strength mesh in her suit, that is in yours. It should be a lot harder for arrows to penetrate or cut open her suit. It's still all in black, and I ditched the wig, although, I suppose you could continue using it."

"The Hood… The archer who shot Black Canary, he took her wig as a trophy." Speedy growled at the thought of someone making a mockery of her sister's work. An upstart, who wanted to prove he's the biggest fish in the pond, that is Starling City.

He would regret that action, she promised herself. Perhaps, she might take his hood as a trophy, make things fair, and equal.

Cisco shuddered. "How many archers have there been?"

"To my knowledge? Three. And only one of them good. Me."

With that, she fired a grapple arrow, and quickly grabbed the briefcase, and disappeared into the night.

* * *

Oliver sat in the darkness of his bunker, after wrapping his ribs tightly with a bandage. The woman certainly knew her craft, boxing, was definitely her primary fighting style. If her fighting style didn't show him that she was adept at it, then bruising around his rips certainly showed him that.

He glanced over at the blood-soaked wig sitting on the copter desk in front of him. He didn't want to do what he did. Leaving the woman, he fought to die alone and slowly.

This vigilante had saved his sister from being killed or worse by a drug dealer. In a normal situation, he would have defended himself, and left at the earliest opportunity. If only for what she has done for both the city and his family.

But between his crusade and his debt to Anatoly, he did what he had to. He just hoped that when the time came, The Bratva would be grateful and that he hadn't damned The Glades to the people he was hunting down.

* * *

 

Thea and Laurel were waiting for the memorial of Robert Queen to be unveiled, as Tommy approached them.

He smiled, at Thea, then his smile disappeared when he saw Laurel's bruises and her arm in a sling. "I keep telling you, Laurel. Get a new instructor." He said quite firmly.

Laurel gave him a reassuring smile, as she slightly nudged Thea. "Actually, even Thea agrees that our instructor while hardcore is looking out for our best interests."

Thea rolled her eyes and nodded. "Right. Our  _instructor_  sure gets tunnel vision. Especially, when our  _instructor_ gets  _too_  passionate." She couldn't help but remind Laurel of her impulsiveness, she was still annoyed that she wasn't called to help.

They then watched, as Oliver stumbled towards the dais, interrupting Walter's speech. While this was occurring, she heard the mumblings of the crowd, calling him a drunk.

Laurel knew it was all for show, he had taken their talk to heart and used her words to publicly shame himself.

That he used her advice to make a mockery of himself, was what stung the most. She thought that they had started to reconcile, only he had once again taken advantage of her, Again _._

_Hot and Cold._

As Oliver left, she walked in the other direction, she was going to her gym, to hit something. Between Oliver perverting her advice, and her loss against The Hood, they were gnawing at her like an itch she just couldn't scratch.

She would get back up to her feet, and train harder and beat Robin Hood.

* * *

Moira sat in the back of a black town car, by the river. "As you can see, my son, Oliver, knows nothing," Moira says, as she idly fiddled with her sunglasses. "Robert hasn't told him about Tempest, and Oliver doesn't know about The Gambit's sabotage." She paused for effect. "He's still the same impulsive and immature boy beneath all the trauma he experienced on that island."

The man opposite her didn't speak. His face didn't give her a glimpse of what he was thinking. So, she asked something that she had been wondering.

"We are on alert, thanks to our vigilante with the green hood, but what of this; Black Canary, and her red archer friend?"

The man traced the burn scars on his neck and his wrist. A reminder of the debt that he would one day pay Black Canary if she didn't die from his upcoming plans. But right now, and for the foreseeable future, The Hood was his enemy. His main hindrance.

"She is inconsequential. She and her friend are busy dealing with petty crime. Brickwell was stupid to wave a red flag at a bull. We must keep an eye on this new player."

As long as he didn't poke Black Canary, she would be too preoccupied with petty crimes and playing the cheerleader for the SCPD.

* * *

Oliver walked into the warehouse that hid his secret below the surface. Beside him was Tommy, and a few spaced behind them was Diggle.

He was still walking off the effects of the curare that was forced into his system. He turned to look at Tommy after he explained his plans to start a legitimate business.

"Following in your sister's footsteps, isn't it supposed to be the other way around?" Tommy asked jokingly and sobered quickly as he saw his friend's sombre look. "Well, I can tell you if you are planning to name it,  _Queens_ , you are certainly not getting the clientele you are expecting."

He wasn't really listening to his friend. His mind was on the rumours of The Red Archer replacing her former teacher's mantle with a student. There was no doubt in his mind, she would be seeking revenge for her fallen comrade.

"Pardon?" Oliver asked as he realised Tommy was waiting for him to point out his ideas for the club.

Oliver nodded and pointed up at the second floor. "Office, up there."

Tommy smirked. "For one on one meetings, perhaps two on one?"

Oliver shook his head. He had only survived the torture and the ' _kill or be killed'_  situations he had endured, in thanks to one person. Laurel. "There's only one girl that I would want a recurring meeting with, in that room or otherwise."

Tommy gave him a look of pity. "I keep telling you man, she's changed. I don't think she's the type of girl that will put up with the constant cheating. Besides, have you seen her fight, I almost received a punch straight to my face, just for sneaking up on her. She also seems more closed off."

Oliver nodded. She may have changed, but she is still the same person at her core. The comforting talk they had the other week was a testimony to that. But he couldn't find anything to say to Tommy, so he just shrugged.

But Tommy continued, likely to help his best friend move on. "Besides, Bud. She seemed pretty pissed off, after your rendition of Drunkard-Meets-Prodigal-Son."

Oliver sighed, as he looked up at the ceiling. He knew that she wouldn't be happy about him using her advice in such a way. But he knew for certain if she knew what his crusade was, she would have understood. But he needed to keep her away from the limelight, and the heat.

But he knew that he would have to apologise to her, make things as right as they could be.

* * *

Oliver walked towards the location, the Bratva used as their headquarters. The organisation, according to Anatoly, had restaurants, and other legitimate businesses or 'fronts' that were destroyed, or seized by either the SCPD, Daniel Brickwell and or the Black Canary.

He walked into the small mechanics business, with one hand holding a bag that contained their enemy's bloody wig.

"I'm looking for Alexi Leonov."

An older bald man turned his head form the car he was fixing. "No one here by that name."

"Perhaps, not in the garage, but below?" He said, as one of the Bratva thugs pointed a gun at him, Oliver swiftly grabbed the man's wrist and twisted it, breaking the man's wrist, and relieving him of the firearm.

Oliver then pulled the collar of his shirt down, reeling his Bratva tattoo. "Where is Alexi Leonov?" Oliver asked more forcibly.

The bald man gave a small bow. "Pleased to meet you." He then signalled Oliver to follow him.

They walked down the stairs to the basement. "I apologise, I meant no disrespect to a captain. Particularly, an American one. We have had issues in Starling, as you may know?" The older man chuckled. "What is it, you Americans say? Better to err on the side of caution?" He then shrugged his shoulders. "What is it I can do?"

Oliver threw a disposable phone to him. "Call the number that is preprogrammed into it."

The Russian mobster smirked, as he called the number, and heard his Pakhan. After the call finished, Oliver handed him the bag, with the wig. "I did a favour for you, now, you do a favour for me."

Alexi opened the bag to see the wig of the woman who had caused his brothers no much anguish the past year, that had lost almost everything.

" _Da._ " He agreed. "And what is it you want in return?"

"A hitman. His calling card is a 7.62 millimetre round laced with a poison called curare. Find him, and tell me everything you know."

* * *

Oliver, Tommy had entered Max Fuller's club, Poison. They had left Diggle at the entrance, and proceed to walk to the bar when they saw Laurel and Thea sitting at the bar.

Oliver saw that she and his sister were not just colleagues, nor was Laurel just looking out for Thea, but they were acting like close friends, or sisters.

Tommy walked over to them. "Laurel Lance, at a night club, having fun. Doesn't that violate an ancient law inscribed on stone tablets or a cave somewhere?"

Oliver then noticed, that in comparison to both Thea and the rest of the girls in the club, Laurel was wearing a more conservative dress and long sleeves. "You cold, Laurel?" He asked with concern, the room was quite warm. To add to his concern, it looked as if Laurel had applied more makeup than usual.

Laurel shrugged, nonchalantly, though he could feel that she was hiding something from him. "Nothing, I can't handle." She said, dismissing his concern.

After having a drink, Oliver was led into a back room with Tommy. Max Fuller intended on having his men beat them up, as they started the scuffle, he saw, Laurel grabbed Fuller by the neck, and punch him in the kidneys, as he went down.

It was then, he noticed Thea looked slightly amused at their reactions, as they saw an unconscious bodyguard at her feet.

"You finished Max? Or are you going to have your boy's pound on me?"

"And me?" Thea growled.

It shocked him that Thea and Laurel could be so aggressive. He knew both had a protective streak, but this was something different, entirely.

After Fuller and his goons left, Oliver looked at Laurel. "Where did you learn that?" The fighting style seemed familiar.

"Self-defence." She said simply. "Dad's a cop, remember?"

"Right." He acknowledged, softly. That is probably why he had recognised it, he had probably had seen her spar when they were younger and had simply forgotten. And likely, she hadn't given up her self-defence classes and had somehow roped in his sister.

As he went out to talk to Laurel, to thank her and apologise about him causing an incident at the unveiling of the new Queen Consolidated memorial for his father. But his phone rang. He looked at the number and knew it was The Bratva.

Laurel would, unfortunately, have to be put on the back burner. The mission comes first, no matter his wants or desires.

He sighed, as he watched Laurel and his sister leave the club. "What have you got?" He growled in frustration, taking some of his irritation out on his _brother_.

If the man felt slighted by Oliver snapping at him, he didn't show it through his disembodied voice. "Floyd Lawton. 1700 Broadway, Pape Motel, Room 52. Leave us out of this, yes? We don't need  _Kanareyka's_ successor, to know. She has apparently replaced the woman you killed. If this new  _Kanareyka_ and Red Archer find out about Bratva involvement they will finish her teacher's mission." He then heard the man cough. "Bratva cannot survive another war."

Instead of reassuring his  _brother_ , he simply hung up on him. He wasn't here to baby them, nor provide them reassurances. As far as he was concerned, his debt to them ended when he put an arrow through someone, that had not deserved it.

He wasn't deluded that the Bratva were criminals, and while, they may be providing alms for those in need, in Russia, but they were parasites in  _his_ city. They were feeding off those who couldn't protect themselves. And so, he killed a woman, that did what he would have done if he were in her position. He followed Anatoly's thinly veiled command and condemned an innocent woman to die slowly, and in pain.

That wasn't the plan, he wasn't supposed to be doing hits for the Bratva, or Waller.

_If the Birds hadn't waged war upon him, she might still be alive, he could have pretended that she kept eluding him, or make a deal with her to take her wig as proof of her death. He thought, darkly. But that wasn't fair. And now, he would have to add her death to the ever-growing list. Yao Fei, Shado, Slade, Sara, Akio, Taiana …_


	7. The Birds vs The Hood

Lance, walked into CNRI to see both Laurel and Thea sitting on the couch discussing The Hood. The son of a bitch who had the gall to pin him to his own police cruiser and all but commanding him to assist him in taking out a gun-for-hire.

"What were the fighting styles he used, Laurel? Perhaps we might be able to narrow down where he has been if we operate on the assumption he trained in those martial arts in their country of origin."

"Apart from archery? Combat Sombo, Muay Thai and Wing Chun Kung-Fu. So, if we are going by regions, you have Russia…"

Quentin felt a sense of pride for  _his_  two remaining daughters. Laurel had been able to dissect and analyse The Hood's fighting styles, while she was in a life or death situation, not to mention her seemingly encyclopaedic knowledge of martial arts. While Thea was eager to learn and was helping her surrogate sister attempt to profile their common foe with the SCPD, in a way that they never would have thought of.

A formidable duo. Sisters in arms.  _His_ Daughters. He found his mind wondering if Sara was there, would she have been working side by side with Laurel and Thea?

"Which is pretty obvious with what you were mumbling about when I got you home," Thea noted, with thinned lips.

Quentin gritted his teeth. After hearing about what happened to his Baby Girl, That Green bastard would be lucky if he even made it to a cell. He shook his head. No, a quick death would be too easy for him. Lance wanted him to rot in the darkest cell available and throw away the key.

"Or South East Asia and or China." Laurel finished her sentence. "That's a large list of places he could have trained if he even trained there at all."

Lance moved from the doorway, and sat down next to them, Thea offered him either the Banana bread, cake, or a variety of fruits.

"What's with the fancy spread, girls?" He asked as he helped himself to a slice of the decadent chocolate layer cake.

"Payment from people who couldn't afford legal counsel, so they paid us back with food," Laurel answered. Then pointed at the table with an assortment of homemade desserts and baskets of fruit. "Take them all to the precinct. God knows we can't eat all of this food."

Lance nodded appreciatively, as he wiped some of the chocolate off his face with a napkin. "Hey, I know that you," He said looking at Thea. "Will be going to the auction, I was hoping that our friendly  _Birds_  will come, and keep an eye out. In case we can't see or are too busy evacuating."

Laurel looked at her dad, quizzically. "What's up? We normally come to you."

"Yeah, well. There's an assassin going around, and The Hood is involved somehow." He said with a hint of desperation. "The point is; I need people I can trust to either take them out or slow them down, enough for us to catch them."

The truth was, following the clean up after Brick was caught, the SCPD, had lost too many cops, and their reputation was tarnished. Having  _his_ girls as their back up, lends the SCPD, some form of legitimacy with the people of the city.

The girls nodded as he continued, as he handed his daughter a small shoe box. "Between, The Hood, The Triads, and now this Hitman, I need to make sure that  _my_  two girls are safe."

Laurel opened the box to reveal two Glock 26's sat in the small cardboard box. "Dad?"

"Strap them to your boot or something." He looked between his only living daughter and a girl who has somehow, wormed her way into his heart. A young woman who was a daughter to him in all but name. "Both of you."

Thea took the second pistol, studying the firearm in her hand, before looking at Detective Lance. "I already have a bow."

"It's a backup. If you're disarmed, or whatever. Call it a piece of mind for me." The girls nodded, as Laurel hugged her father. "The serial numbers are scrubbed off. No one can trace the gun back to you two. They are clean. It's also a hair trigger."

He then closed his eyes and then opened them to look at  _his_ girls. "A pistol and a hair trigger will beat a bow and arrow. Especially after your last run in. Promise me if and when the time comes, neither of you won't hesitate to shoot to kill?"

Both nodded but didn't know if they had it in them to end a life or kill again, in Laurel's case.

"Look, girls. I'm not gonna lie to you, The Hood approached me. He was the one who told me about this assassin. So, if either of you two feels like your life is in danger, you shoot to kill. No one will fault you for protecting yourselves against known killers. "He then looked at Laurel. "Especially after what he did to you, baby."

Both sisters glanced at each other and he knew that they were having a silent conversation. He assumed it meant that this was the opportunity they were looking for; to have Robin Hood arrested.

* * *

 

Oliver watched as Thea was talking to their mother and Walter. His eyes scanned the area, to see someone, he hadn't expected at the auction. Laurel. She was talking to her father, and both of their eyes were scanning the location.

He supposed she was there to support his family, and Walter at the auction.

Her eyes were watching something occur, Detective Hilton was escorting Patel out of the premises. He knew that Lance was unlikely to pass up the opportunity to protect people, even if the source was from someone he didn't trust.

But Oliver knew from researching;  _The Turf Wars_ , he realised that Black Canary was receiving inside information, and despite the Detective's preaching of never going outside the law to get justice, the man would blur those lines if he could help save people.

And so, Detective Lance had colluded with a vigilante— The one that Oliver had killed. The detective was a lot more heated than he usually was when he had met The Hood. But both of them knew he couldn't divulge that information. Eventually, Lance had reluctantly accepted his help.

It was one of the things he always admired about Quintin Lance. He had morals and ethics but was willing to cast them aside if it meant that his city was safe. Just as he was attempting to do.

He then walked over to his stepfather, Walter. It was something that he still had to get used to. "Walter, I heard on the radio, that someone was hunting down people looking to purchase Unidac Industries."

Walter gave him a polite smile. "Yes, that seems to be the Starling City's Police Department's leading theory. At least judging by their presence here, and Detective Pike's questioning."

Oliver was surprised that Lance hadn't questioned Walter. Perhaps, with his bond with Speedy, by virtue of Laurel, he had to pass the job to an impartial colleague, in order to not make waves. This was something he hadn't anticipated, the lack of hostility or aggressiveness from the Lance patriarch.

He knew that the Detective didn't like him, especially with what happened to Sara, but he was at the very least, trying to be amicable when around Thea or Laurel.

"I think that we should be careful. My mother already lost a husband." He persisted, he couldn't risk his mother losing another husband, and Thea, another father. Despite her newfound maturity, he would always see her as the little feisty girl who was always on his heels.

Walter gave him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "I appreciate the concern, son. But your mother isn't concerned, she invited your sister."

Oliver spotted Thea, talking with his mother and signalled Digg to follow. As he approached his family, Oliver spoke. "Digg, I need you to escort my family to safety." He then looked around for Laurel, his other family. His home. But he couldn't see her. "Where's Laurel?"

Before anyone could answer, a gunshot was heard, and a waiter was killed. Lance had tackled Walter to the ground. When he looked back to his family, he noticed Thea had already disappeared.

 _She likely fled for safety._ He supposed.

He rushed up the stairs, to his duffle bag that was hidden in the rubbish bin. He pulled out the bag to reveal his green hood.

The Hood smashed into the location Deadshot was sniping from. He ducked and rolled to cover, avoiding the spray of bullets. Eventually, he found cover behind a thick concrete support column. Every so often, he would poke out of cover and let loose several arrows at the hitman.

"Drop your weapons!" A modulated female voice echoed the deserted wing of the hotel, that was obviously in the middle of heavy maintenance.

The Hood scowled. The Red Archer's student was here, the one the Bratva warned him about.

The new Birds would be, no doubt, seeking revenge, just like he had for Akio with Shrieve.

Deadshot chuckled. He seemed undaunted by the unannounced third party. "I admire your work,  _Hood_. Why don't you extend me some professional courtesy?"

"I don't murder." He said as he saw the dying body of the woman who saved his baby sister, how she had died slowly, and alone.

"You've taken lives" Deadshot scoffed.

"Both of you have." A second disguised female voice said. "Match made in heaven." He assumed this one was the Red Archer.

"I kill for the good of others…" The Hood felt the need to defend his position to the two female vigilantes, for a reason he couldn't explain.

"You tried to kill someone. Someone who protects the little guy!" The first modulated voice said as Deadshot was looking around trying to find the three vigilantes.

The Hood gritted his teeth. The Red Archer was out for blood. Not that he didn't deserve it, but he had a mission to atone for his family's sins, and The Red Archer wasn't going to take that away from him, he didn't know her, nor did he owe her his life.

"I don't take kindly to attempted murder, especially when someone does it to me!" The first voice said. This made The Hood feel uneasy.

Apparently, Black Canary was more resilient than he had assumed. And now she brought back up. He hadn't anticipated a reprisal from the Red Archer for a long while. Let alone, an ambush with the thought-dead vigilante.

He poked his head out again, to see Deadshot move towards some scaffolding, that was disturbed, likely by one of  _The Birds._

As the hitman looked around, The Hood fired an arrow, impaling him in the eye.

As he hadn't heard his other foes, for a few minutes, as he walked out into the open, he saw Black Canary. Standing above Deadshot's body with a scowl pointed towards him.

She looked different. Gone was the platinum blonde wig, and she had a new suit, it was still completely black, but she had fishnets around her shoulders, and coat-tails fluttered behind her, reminiscent of wings tucked behind her.

Not unlike, an angel, or a bird.

"It's time to face justice for your crimes, Robin Hood." She said curtly.

"Not interested, Pretty Bird." As he pulled an arrow from his quiver, he felt an arrow pierce his shoulder, through the back, causing him to drop the arrow in his hand with a pained grunt.

_The Red Archer._

"Turnabout is fair play." The Red Archer said mockingly before her voice became something akin to a growl. "My sister gave you a warning, and you threw it back in her face, buy trying to kill her! You are going to rot in prison, and Brick will have a new  _playmate_  in his cell. You can come willingly or with a bruised body and ego."

"This is your final warning! Surrender and lower your hood or I will yank it off! Robin Hood this isn't Sherwood. If you wanted to do some good in the first place you should have supported a charity." He heard Black Canary menacingly.

He remained grounded to his spot like she had a few weeks ago as he considered his options. He wasn't about to cower to them. He had to fulfil his father's dying wish, something that neither of these vigilantes would understand.

When they realised, he wouldn't give up his crusade, he was flung back through the scaffolding behind him, by a high-pitched sonic boom.

As he dazedly stood up, he noticed that the two foes had escaped, though a token from Black Canary remained, an incessant high-pitched ringing in his ears. All of a sudden a bola came spinning out of the darkness wrapping around Oliver's legs and causing him to trip and hit the floor hard.

He grunted as he looked from the ground he watched as the silhouettes of Black Canary and The Red Archer advanced upon him. He fought his sense of vertigo and opened his eyes to see The Red Archer holster her bow and pull out a sword. Next, to her he saw Black Canary pull out a cable tie, The Hood pulled out a folding knife and quickly cut the bola wrapped around his legs while reaching for a trick arrow in his Quiver and flicked a switch that set off a timed flash-bang.

"You made your choice. Hope you enjoy bunking with the buddies of the men you killed." The Red Archer said mockingly.

"The SCPD is going to have a nice chat with you when you regain your senses." Black Canary said as she inched closer.

As the flashbang arrow exploded, The Birds shielded their faces. He knew he had to flee, there was no time to take either of these two out, before the army of police barge into the abandoned wing.

While they were temporarily distracted, he fled down the fire escape, once he was down one floor, and about to exit through a door, a red arrow narrowly missed his hand. He looked over his shoulder to see The Red Archer slowly making her way down the stairs, with her bow drawn. Her partner must be minding the body of Floyd Lawton until the police would take over.

The Hood swore under his breath, as he heard Detective Lance telling his men to converge to the west stairwell.

The Hood jumped down the stairs, narrowly avoiding another couple of arrows. He could hear them,  _whizzing,_  as they narrowly missed him. He vaguely heard the projectiles hitting the concrete wall, and dropping to the floor.

He promptly opened another door, dropping a timed flashbang, before seeing a pale Diggle. The man was clutching his shoulder and leaning against the handrail.

The Hood ran to a pillar, snapping the arrow in his shoulder, before helping his Bodyguard to safety.

He could hear the many footsteps that belonged to a small contingent of police officers, followed by their moans and yelps as the flashbang arrow exploded before their eyes.

He kicked open a large window, shattering it into small shards. He then quickly shot a grapple arrow to a nearby rooftop. He picked Diggle over his shoulder and fled into the darkness.

It was then, when he reached a nearby ally, that realised that The Birds had planned to incapacitate him and leave him to the cops.

_Like he left her for dead._

The Birds had wanted to let the SCPD have a win. A chance for the police to win back some of the respect back, that they have lost in the last year.

They will have to be disappointed. If Black Canary wasn't going to go down easy, neither was he!

* * *

 

Lance swore under his breath, as he and Hilton removed their kevlar vests. He had returned to the scene where The Hood had murdered Floyd Lawton. The rogue vigilante had seemingly changed his MO.

He turned to see Officer Perry walking towards  _his_  daughters, dressed in what he calls 'their uniforms.' He walked over to see what the young officer was doing.

Perry walked up to The Birds of Prey with a slight aura of trepidation and awe. Amongst the men and women or had served and watched his eldest daughter fight off and defend their city against the Brickwell and his cabal and the newest batch of officers, held both female vigilantes with the highest of esteem.

Perry smiled awkwardly as she asked if she could have a selfie with them. Of course, being the women they are, they graciously accepted.

He rolled his eyes to the back of his head and had to try to hold back a chuckle, as Speedy grabbed the officer's phone, and started taking photos.

He sighed, as more officers started to want signatures or photographs, he chuckled lightly, before bellowing at them to go back to their work, asking if they were police officers or teenage girls attending a boy band concert.

* * *

 

Oliver walked away from Digg, who had just woken up and took a swing at him. The bodyguard looked around the bunker Oliver had created. "You're the Vigilante?"

Oliver nodded, as Diggle continued. "You lost your mind on that island."

Oliver shrugged. "Possibly. But I also picked up a couple of things as well."

He needed Diggle to understand his mission. One thing he had learned during his tenure in hell, was that when you lose, you learn from your mistakes, and learn from your enemy.

Black Canary had almost died, she should have died, if not for her partner. Someone she could trust implicitly to cover her back. Her sister? That's what the younger woman hidden behind the crimson hood had said. She Had provided triage and helped the  _Pretty Bird_  regroup and prepare for their next fight.

And they took him unawares. And now he was going to follow in her sable coloured boots, and procure himself a trusted ally.

"Like what?" Digg asked, sarcastically. "Archery?"

"Clarity," Oliver answered, ceasing Digg's sarcastic questions. "Starling City is dying. It's being smothered by the criminal elite, who only care about their bottom line, and not the people they trample over."

Diggle scoffed. "Someone… Some people already have that covered. Black Canary, The Red Archer they took down Brickwell, The Bratva and the corruption in this city's justice system."

Oliver shook his head. " _The Birds_ , they have tunnel vision, they see there's an issue like I do, but they are either too idealistic or stubborn to realise that they are treating the cancer, not exercising it."

"And what?" Digg asked. "You're what? Gonna be a one-man army? You lost against those two!" He said, pointing at Oliver's bandaged shoulder, and the purple bruises that he received from being thrown harshly back by Black Canary's scream, that forced him to collide with the scaffolding.

Not long after he had helped Digg survive, the continual ringing in his ears had slowly begun to ebb away.

"No. I want you to join me." The man was special forces, he could see the way he postured himself before they met. He carried the same air of martial etiquette that Slade and Maseo had held themselves with. "Special Forces, out of Kandahar, it's perfect."

"You speak as if you were a soldier, but you're not." The bodyguard said, raising himself from the impromptu bed. "You're a criminal. And a murderer."

* * *

 

Oliver returned home, he knew that after Diggle had calmed down, he would see the truth. He sighed as he walked through the vast mansion, that still didn't feel like home, as he walked up to the stairs, he felt the familiar unnerving feeling of his hairs standing up.

He turned to see Laurel standing there. "Where were you?" She asked, as her eyes carefully scanned him for injury. He was thankful that the bruises and his puncture wound were hidden beneath his dress shirt and blazer.

"What are you doing here?" He hadn't expected her to come near him for a long while.

Laurel sighed, then spoke. "I heard about the shooting. I already saw Thea, and I wanted to make sure that you were too."

"You did?" He asked. He didn't sense any deception in her eyes, but as Tommy has repeatedly pointed out, Laurel, as he had changed. And looking into her beautiful green eyes, that were filled with apprehension, and hurt, showed him that she hadn't changed too much. She was still the caring girl he fell in love with years ago.

"Yeah." She nodded. He noticed that she had masked her hurt, from him not believing her. "I knocked on the door, and I found a family terrified for you." She looked like she was about to say more but stopped herself.

"Oh..."

"Oliver, are you so self-centred that you don't care or think that others care about you, and love you? Especially after you avoided being shot at? Oliver, you only just got home."

Oliver nodded. He would have to remember that he wasn't alone any more. That he had others who needed him. And trust Laurel for unknowingly pointing out one of his flaws as The Hood. First, Black Canary, showing him the necessity of a team, and now Laurel reminding him he was more than the hood, he wore.

"You're right, Laurel." He said. "And I'm sorry. Not just for this, but for using what you said to guide me, and perverting it. I shouldn't have embarrassed you, not hurt you like that." He said thinking about his father's memorial and the Queen Consolidated's applied science division.

Laurel looked stunned for a moment, before hiding it behind a mask, as she did earlier. "I made peace with your selfishness a long time ago, but your Mom, Walter and Speedy. They don't deserve that. You have to think of how your actions affect others, it doesn't happen in a vacuum."

"Thank you for coming." He said softly, to show her that he meant it.

He then watched her leave, he wanted to beg her to stay. To apologise properly, but he let her go.

"That was harsh." He heard Speedy say, as she gently rubbed his back.

She had unwittingly snuck up on him again. Was he losing his senses?

"You okay?" She asked softly.

Oliver nodded numbly. "Sure." He said, sounding more vulnerable than he has in years, he's not sure how he feels about that. "Second time tonight a close friend of mine has given me a good dressing down."

Thea sighed as she rested her head on his shoulder, he forced himself to ignore the pain, and enjoy being with his baby sister. Oliver was reminded how she used to do that when she was younger when they would watch cartoons or a movie and she would always rest her head on his shoulder. It was one of the small things he missed during those five years.

"If it helps..." She said, breaking the contemplative silence. "Laurel says a lot during the heat of the moment. But it means she cares enough about you, if she didn't, she wouldn't have said a word."

Oliver nodded. It was a hard day, losing to The Birds, women with the best of intentions, but misguided and have been getting in his way.

Then being taken out to the woodshed by both Diggle and Laurel. He was just glad that Speedy still had his back.

"I am sorry about not telling you and the others that I was fine."

Thea nodded. "You've been alone for a long time. It will take a while before you can adjust, and remember that you no longer have to only ensure your safety." She then patted his forearm gently. "There is also this remarkable technology called a cell phone, you can talk to anyone, regardless of location." She added with a cheeky smirk. "Perhaps, you should invest in one?"

That was the Speedy, he remembered from five years ago. His feisty smart-ass sister. "Nice, Thea." He said with a slight chuckle. He then looked at his little sister and gave his sister a playful scolding. "No more sneaking up on me, Speedy. Or I will have to rename you, sneaky."

Thea grimaced. "Uh, no." She said, before giving him a mischievous smile and a wink, before ascending the stairs to find her room.


	8. Potential

Moira smiled at her dutiful husband as he was working diligently at his desk. A desk that should, by rights, belong to Oliver. She prayed that one day her beautiful boy would rise to the occasion and take that seat and continue to build a legacy worthy of the name; Queen.

Over the past year and a bit, she had come to realise that she wouldn't be able to convince her daughter to sit on the chair, her father had once sat upon. She seemed to be joined at the hip with Laurel Lance, and following her into the legal world, rather than the business world.

She had subtlety tried to convince her daughter to get a degree in law, or work either in Queen Consolidated's legal division, or work as a paralegal in a prestigious law firm, rather than slaving over dangerous, or inconsequential work in The Glades, no matter how noble it may seem. But Thea was stubborn and remained at her friend's side. She wanted to be a Good Samaritan like her friend.

"Have you seen my husband? He's supposed to have lunch with me almost an hour ago." She asked Walter.

Walter froze and discreetly looked at the time before looking up at her. "I'm terribly sorry, Moira."

Moira smiled. She loved that he was so attached to his job, to her family's legacy. "It's all right, the restaurant is holding our reservation." She then noticed that her husband seemed a little off. "Is there something wrong?"

Walter smiled, as he casually dismissed it. "Compliance department was worried about a possible IRS audit. They discovered a 2.6 million withdrawal from one of our subsidiaries."

Moira froze. She attempted to pass it off as worry for her company and not for her. "Walter, are you saying someone has embezzled over two and a half million dollars from our company?"

"I wouldn't fret." He said before he kissed her cheek. "Likely a bookkeeping error. Happens more often than it should. Humans are not infallible, Moira"

* * *

Laurel had her hands to guard her face, as she waited for Thea to throw the first punch. As she did, Laurel bobbed and ducked under each punch, and occasionally jabbed her where her sister overextended herself.

"Don't punch too far away from your body. Either get in close or wait till they come to you." She advised her sparring partner.

Thea grumbled as she jumped over Laurel's sweep kick. "We should be out there, catching him. He still owes you his hood."

Laurel rolled her eyes, as she sides stepped Thea's kick to her midsection and shoved her ankle away, causing the younger woman to temporarily lose her balance. "We will get him." She promised. "We need to be on our A-game to ensure that he can't or won't overpower us."

That was the plan, emphasising dodges, and manipulating his movements and power, rather than a resorting to brawn vs. brawn. Because he was larger than them, he would always win that sort of confrontation nine times out of ten.

She hoped that the last couple of weeks without spotting The Hood, and their new training regimen gave them the edge when they inevitably face off against each other again.

* * *

Laurel walked into her apartment to find that her lights weren't working. Falling back into her training, she slowly crept into the shadows and observed her door had been wedged open and her security alarm had been deactivated.

She clenched her fists. Perhaps Thea was right, she needed to relocate. She crouched down, to pick up the small concealable pistol her father had given her, that was hidden in her boot. She cocked it and moved further into her living room. She noticed movement in the far corner and raised her gun in that direction.

The intruder moved into the light cast by the streetlights outside. She recognized the intruder immediately.

The Hood! The slippery bastard that escaped her grasp when she had almost had him.

Had he somehow found out who she was? If he knew, then he could know about Speedy. Her family was in danger!

Laurel couldn't let that happen! She wouldn't, she would protect her loved ones at any cost.

"Hello, Laurel." He said, his voice was disguised, not unlike her's and Thea's, when they were in their suits.

She could hear her heart beating in her ears, at the sight of the man who had almost killed her. "Don't move!" She commanded the criminal in a cold commanding voice. The same kind of voice she has used countless times on thugs.

He held out his bow and held it in a way that conveyed he had no intent on harming her. And yet, the gesture didn't calm her growing anxiety.

"My father's a cop." She said. "I also know someone, who knows Black Canary, Wildcat and The Red Archer. You're making a huge mistake." She warned The Hood.

"There's a misunderstanding, Laurel. I'm not who you think I am. I need your help." He said, inching his way carefully towards her.

"I think, the understanding is perfectly clear. You tried to kill—her." She said, not lowering her gun. He didn't know she was just as adept with a firearm, as she was with her fists. She also edged closer to her hidden bola by her desk. If he tried to lunge at her, she would first try to dodge and grab it to throw it at him to tie him up.

The Hood gave a slight nod. "I did. An action I deeply regret. Besides, your friend got even. He said, as his spare hand went to his shoulder. "Now, look beyond that incident. Peter Declan will be executed under false charges in two days. The man's wife was preparing to be a whistle-blower. Brodeur had her silenced."

She kept her gun pointed at him. She wouldn't let him get the drop on her. Her finger ready to pull the trigger at a moment's notice.

"There are thousands of attorneys in Starling alone. Why me?"

He gently pulled her hands down, effectively lowering her weapon. There was something about him that made her trust him, in spite of him trying to kill her.

Why did she feel like she could trust him, despite what he had done?

Why did she feel like she could trust him, despite what he had done? Was she going crazy?

"We are both trying to help people." He said.

"What makes you so certain, I'm going to assist you?" She asked looking over her shoulder at him.

She could feel his warm breath on the nape of her neck. "Because I know you would do anything to save an innocent life. Just as you did last year, with… Miss Queen."

Laurel hated that he was right, but she would do anything in that regard. She told him, "You have a point, but if you are going to work with me then we have to set some ground rules for you and your tendency towards killing people."

The Hood just looked at her nonplussed, while Laurel smirked back at him.

* * *

Moira walked into the den to find Walter sipping a glass of whisky while reading over the papers.

She frowned. She couldn't let her husband get too close to that. Malcolm would ensure Walter's silence one way or another.

"Still working on the numbers? I believe that we have accountants for that."

"They have been quite ineffective. I will put my nose to the grindstone until I find out what occurred."

Moira pinched the bridge of her nose. "I believe I did it and forgot to account for it. A few years ago, I donated money to a friend's start-up company." She gave him a reassuring smile, praying that he would believe her and put aside the dangerous path he was on.

Walter gave her a small smile, and took a sip of his drink, and packed up his papers. She prayed that he wasn't just going to do the sleuthing away from her line of sight.

Everyone involved in Tempest was on edge. First, Daniel Brickwell, then; Adam Hunt, Marcus Redmond, and Martin Sommers. If Walter continued pulling the loose string he found, Malcolm would suspect he was the man who had been assisting either The Hood or Black Canary or, both.

If Walter started being in Malcolm's crosshairs, it's was not a wild assertion, then she and children were next.

* * *

Laurel and Thea walked into Iron Heights. The old prison looked like it belonged in Medieval Europe, with its forlorn grey walls, and steel bars. It certainly wasn't The Four Seasons. As Thea thought as she looked at the walls, she envisioned The Hood behind one of these steel cages.

The girls placed their briefcases, though the metal detector, and were then patted down by the guards. Once they were ensured that they were without weapons or any other illicit items, they were granted entry. Though, unknown to the guards The Birds didn't need to smuggle in weapons because they were proficient in several types of martial arts.

As the pair walked in, a well-dressed man that certainly was not a guard, prisoner nor the warden approached them. He smiled at them pleasantly "Miss Lance, Miss Queen." He greeted them, before looking straight at Laurel. "I'm Mister Winterain. And my client, Mr Brickwell would like to extend his most gracious offer of you visiting him, Miss Lance."

Thea moved slightly in front of Laurel, in a protective manner. "What would a snake like him want with my sister?" She all but snarled.

"My, my..." He tsked, as the attorney looked past Thea to Laurel. "Is this how CNRI operates? Foul language and slander, and defamation?"

Laurel gently pulled Thea back and gave the attorney a practised faux-smile. "I appreciate the offer, but I'm busy. Pro Bono case, I'm sure you would understand, with you wearing your expensive black cashmere and Marino wool suit, with a suit like that, I can tell you help the less privileged." She said sardonically.

She then moved past him, as Thea sniggered. "I doubt he has ever stepped foot in The Glades." She whispered to Laurel, as she followed her sister, who was following one of the guards to Peter Declan.

They then moved to the interview room that held Declan. She opened the door and took a seat, with Thea sitting next to her, opening her notebook, ready to take notes.

"I was asked by a Good Samaritan to check over your case. He believes that you are innocent, but a jury says otherwise. Help me, to help you."

Declan nodded, as he looked between his new legal councillors. "The evidence was made to make me look guilty. I didn't kill my wife, I couldn't! I would never take my daughter's mother from her."  
Thea finished jotting down the notes and looked up. "How would you explain the knife that belonged to you covered with your prints and her blood?"

Declan got up to pace. As Laurel kept questioning him. "The bloody knife was found in the boot of your car, your neighbours heard you two arguing."

He turned hot on his heels. Explaining that he had a heated disagreement with his wife, which was about her employer Jason Brodeur, and that she was preparing to go to the media and the police about the toxic waste that was being dumped into The Glades.

As loud as the verbal argument was, it remained just that, verbal. His wife then slept in their daughters' room to both comforts their scared child and to give each other space.

"I went to apologise to Camille the next morning. I found her there. I was shocked and hyperventilating. I grabbed my sleeping daughter and ran outside, and called the police." He then looked at both Thea and Laurel. "I'm innocent Miss Lance, Miss Queen."

* * *

Oliver was sitting opposite to Diggle at one of the tables at Big Belly Burger. His gamble with John Diggle had seemingly started to pay off. No cops, he hadn't betrayed his trust. And that was essential. If Black Canary had someone who she could trust like a sibling, he needed to follow that. And Digg was his guy or he hoped he would be.

"Have you considered my offer?"

Diggle snorted at the mention of his offer. "That's one way to put it."

"It is an offer," Oliver assured him. He couldn't go out without backup. Someone at the very least, able to provide Evac, if not support in the field. "It's a chance to do the kind of good that lead you to join the armed forces."

The former soldier-turned-bodyguard scoffed. "You expect me to believe that you had an epiphany after being on an island without any room service?"

Oliver pulled out his father's ledger, his small book. "This book belonged to my father. I found it when I buried him."

Diggle looked at him with both pity and curiosity. "I was at the courthouse. You said…"

"What was said, and what happened are two separate things. We both made it on the life raft. There weren't enough supplies. Very little food or water. So, he shot himself in the head, to give me a chance to live."

Diggle looked at him with that look again. So, Oliver continued. "As much as he was doing it for my survival, I believe that he did it to atone for his sins. I need to right the wrongs of my family."

Because if he didn't who would? Not his mother and he would die before he let Thea out into the world of kill or be killed. He would sacrifice his happiness to ensure that the people he loved; His Mom, Thea, Tommy and Laurel were safe, even if it meant he suffered.

"I'm offering you a chance to right the wrongs done to yours, prevent them from happening to others."

Diggle frowned. "What are you saying?"

"Your brother's shooter was never caught. The bullets were laced with curare. Floyd Lawton was the sniper. I stopped him."

Oliver took a breath. "People like Lawton, Brickwell… And my father. These men and women have no qualms with stepping on other people's throats to achieve their endgame. And they need to be handed justice. If the courts, the SCPD or The Birds won't do it. It's going to be me." He explained adamantly, then pulled his father's booklet back into his jacket. "And I hope, you."

The truth was, as much as he respected his adversaries in black and red, they held back. Sometimes, you had to use extreme measures on people who wouldn't see reason.

* * *

After Laurel and Thea interviewed their newest client, she had asked her father for assistance in finding what the police had found, he had given her a copy of the report and gave her insights as to what he remembered about the case.

Later that night, she received a message from The Hood. It told her the location to meet him, which was on top of a building nearby where she lived.

Laurel was feeling conflicted and torn. One on hand a part of her was pushing her to capture the Hood the moment he showed his face. She knew she could do it. She should do it. Laurel and Thea had planned and trained for weeks, and between the two of them, she was confident that they could defeat The Hood and soon have him in prison.

Another part of her, however, was telling her to hold back. The Hood intrigued her. She saw how he possessed the same drive as her when she had just started working with Ted.

The Hood had the potential to be more than what he was. More than a ruthless killer. He could be a hero.

Perhaps she could change his mind and set him on a new path. Laurel with considerable effort, had made The Hood stop robbing and killing people at least, temporarily, while he was working with her.

The Hood, of course, made no promises in the long run, though he had agreed to the terms of her deal. It was a small victory, but an important one nevertheless. She still couldn't find it herself to trust him that much even if her gut was telling her otherwise.

The trust would come with time, along with him earning it. She had asked Thea to stand watch on an adjacent rooftop, as a failsafe, in case things with The Hood went south.

She stood there, as she heard Speedy talking through her earwig.

" _I hope you know what you're doing. I wouldn't be in a rush to help Robin Hood, after what he did to you. Even if you two kiss and makeup, he shouldn't expect a Christmas card from me."_

Laurel smirked, and immediately hid it behind a mask, as The Hood appeared.

_"I have eyes on him, and my bow is nocked, and drawn."_

"I got your message," Laurel said, as she held a copy of a police report in the air.

"Declan?" He asked.

"You're right. He may be innocent. He said his wife blew the whistle the day she was murdered."

The Hood nodded, avoiding the lights to ensure his anonymity and tucking his Hood further down his head. "We need to get whoever she divulged the information to testify."

"He already did, Matt Istook. Camille's supervisor" She said looking over her shoulder at The Hood. Laurel knew he didn't wear a mask like she did, but some type of grease paint over his eyes would be her best guess.

 _"Man, Robin of Loxley really doesn't like you looking at him. He flinches away and immediately hides his face. It's like the opposite of Peek-A-Boo."_  Speedy said cheekily over the Comms.

"He could be lying." The Hood said.

"I know liars. Been a victim of lies, worked with liars, despite what the police and the jury may believe, Declan was not lying.

The truth was, between Ted and her job as a lawyer, she was pretty good at spotting lies.

"I appreciate the help, Laurel. Thank you." He then shot a grappling arrow and disappeared into the night.

 _"I can shadow him?"_  Speedy asked as if she would relish the idea of ghosting him and finding his hidden lair and finally discovering who the mysterious Hood really was.

Laurel shook her head. "We will give him the benefit of the doubt, and besides, he is too well trained. If Dad is right and he has special forces training, he would know counter-espionage tactics. He would know somebody was tailing him."

The man deserved a chance, and she felt she owed him at the very least. He went to her, a known associate of Black Canary during the Turf Wars, to work alongside him.

It took guts to come to her for help. Even more, if he actually knew she was behind the black mask though when she thought about it some more Laurel begin to have serious doubts as he would act differently around her. Of that, she was pretty sure of. Yes, Laurel was going out on a limb for The Hood, but if he broke his word, and betrayed her, then he would be opening Pandora's Box. Black Canary and Speedy would go after him with a vengeance, and this time there would be no quarter given, and they would do everything humanly possible to prevent his escape and ensure his capture.

The Birds would ensure that he would face the full extent of the law.


	9. A Bird in Flight

Laurel had returned to the office and had sent Thea home, one of them had to be at their best in case they were needed.

As she went over her notes, Thea had taken earlier, and the police report her father had given her. But her mind kept going back to Brick's offer to meet with her? Why would he want to associate himself with her?

Her thoughts were broken, as the lights went off in the office. A file was thrown onto her desk.

"Compliments of Mr Istook."

"What's in it?" She asked, as she glanced at the folder, then back up at her unlikely ally.

The Hood answered from her doorway. "Leverage on Brodeur. Enough to hopefully ensure that you can save Declan's life."

She looked up at him. "I thought you were initially an enforcer for one of the crime families. A freelancer, or an enforcer."

The Hood stepped into her office. His voice was oddly gentle despite his voice modulator, a stark contrast to the murderous glare and voice she was assaulted with when they first crossed paths. "And now, Laurel. What do you think?"

"I think that there are too many people in this city who care about themselves. People who are greedy and only care about their wants, rather than others. I think that you as long as you stop killing people. You  _may_  be what this city needs, just like The Birds of Prey _._ "

She saw a small smile grace the archer's hidden face before he left. Once he left, the lights turned back on. A smile, that made her feel warm. A smile that was oddly familiar, and yet, she couldn't put her finger on who owned the smile.

If he kept to helping people, she would overlook him trying to kill her. If he kept to helping people, she would overlook him trying to kill her but it wouldn't stop her from trying to find out who he really was under the Hood. Once Laurel had that knowledge, she would have even more leverage over the man underneath the Hood and force him to her way of thinking.

* * *

Oliver walked into the lobby of the mansion, with a grin. As he was about to ascend the stairs, Thea noticed the smile.

"Ollie?" He turned to see his little sister walking towards him with a grin. "What is that on your face?" She asked cheekily.

"What?"

"There's this weird thing with your face. Around the mouth and lips…" She then fake gasped. "Could it be a smile?"

He chuckled. "Cute, Thea."

"I took your advice, with Laurel." He revealed.

"And?" She prodded.

Oliver rolled his eyes. "It's helping. You were right, we are communicating better."

Thea folded her arms and looked at him with a haughty expression. "Move over Dr Phil. Thea Queen has mad relationship skills, and doesn't even need a doctorate nor a medical license." She then smugly smirked. "I know some expensive, yet trendy places, my adopted sister would love for you to propose to her in..."

He pinched his fingers. "A little too quick on the draw, Speedy."

* * *

As Laurel was working, her father barged into her office. "Want to know what I heard?"

She looked up. She knew she shouldn't take the bait but did. "What?"

"Matt Istook was harassed by The Hood. Which is incredibly strange, because I gave my daughter that name. I could have forgiven a Red Archer or Black Canary roughing up Istook, but The Hood!?"

"Dad, I—"

"He's a vigilante, a killer. That makes you an accessory." He sighed. "He could have murdered Istook and Brodeur."

Laurel stood from her seat. "But he didn't. And I am saving a man's life. And If I'm an accomplice to The Hood's crimes, you are to mine."

He shook his head, his face showing how visibly sad and disappointed in her he was in her. "You took this case, and lied to me." He said hurt. "I thought that you and I don't do that. When you came back, I thought we had an unspoken pact. That we could trust each other. I thought that after I told you that  _I knew_ , We wouldn't lie to each other anymore."

"I am sorry dad but I have a chance to change the Hood's mind about killing criminals and I couldn't let an opportunity like that slip away," Laurel said with a conviction in her voice, that Quentin had never heard so strongly before.

"And if he breaks his word, Baby?" He asked.

Laurel's eyes hardened. "Then Thea and I will ensure that the SCPD will have Robin Hood with a bow wrapped around him. I promise."

* * *

Laurel had been spending the last ten minutes trying to get the judge to see reason.

"That evidence proves beyond a reasonable doubt, that Mr Istook had perjured himself for Jason Brodeur's benefit."

"That's slander." Laurel turned to see two lawyers and Brodeur standing in the doorway of the judge's chambers.

Istook's attorney continued, as he waltzed up to the judges' desk beside her, with an air of arrogance. "Jared Swanstrom, your honour. Here on behalf of Jason Brodeur, and his holdings."

She had to try harder now that the judge had an opposing view to hers. She had to try to appeal to the judge's sense of justice. "For justice to be achieved, Your Honour, you should stay the defendant's execution. To allow the exploration of newly discovered evidence."

"This court is not a court of justice, Miss Lance. It's the Court of Law. Which dictates that your evidence is not enough to warrant a stay of execution." The judge harshly explained to Laurel.

Laurel felt herself deflate. She let down Peter Declan, his daughter and The Hood. If she lost this case, she doubted she could rein in The Hood from robbing or murdering people, after all, he thought that deserved it. Then the Birds would have no choice but to pursue him. For some reason, that thought left her deeply unsettled. She listened as the judge denied her motion, feeling dread cling on to her.

She stormed past Brodeur's lawyer and walked up to the man himself. "This isn't over. I found a loose thread, and I will keep pulling at it, until your entire would unravel around you. If you don't believe me, ask the last person whose world tumbled down because I wouldn't let go of the loose string." Laurel took a deep calming breath, she desperately wanted to punch the so smug smile off his face, but she turned around and walked away.

* * *

"We're not done yet, Laurel." The Hood said, almost eerily repeating verbatim, what Thea had said earlier.

" _Wow, maybe Robin Hood isn't so bad if he agrees with me,"_  Speedy said over the Comms. A few seconds later she quickly added,  _"I will deny that tooth and nail if you ever tell him that."_

"I'm an attorney. Trust me, it's over." She said, ignoring her sister, in favour of trying to keep The Hood talking. "By the way since you are on a first name basis mind telling me yours? After all, calling you Mr Hood sounds so formal." Laurel said with a smirk.

The Hood just looked at her and chuckled slightly, under his breath. "I don't think so, Laurel. I am a very guarded person. You know with this line of work and all..."

"Perhaps an associate of mine will have more luck then," Laurel replies coyly.

Laurel's mind then returned back to the issue at hand. Brodeur. Laurel Lance and Thea Queen might be temporarily on the bench, but Black Canary and Speedy weren't under such an obligation.

Jason Brodeur was going to realise that she and her sister were the justice that he couldn't run from.

One way or another, Peter Declan would be alive, and a free man who would be able to watch his daughter grow up, and walk her down the aisle at her wedding.

The Hood turned to look at her, though his hood still concealed his identity. "What do you need, to free our innocent man?"

"At this point? Nothing short of a signed confession by Brodeur. "He nodded and walked off. "Where are you going?" Laurel shouted at him and started to run in his direction which forced him to spin on his heel and assume a more defensive posture on instinct.

" _Careful, Laurel,"_  Speedy warned, as Laurel heard Thea take a deep breath and the telltale sound of her drawing her bow, her nocked arrow had a bola attached to it, ready to incapacitate the Hood in a heartbeat. He wouldn't be able to cut the bola this time as it was made of reinforced carbon steel courtesy of Cisco. The Hood would need a blowtorch and even then, it would take at the very least, an hour to melt through it.

Laurel had to remind herself, that she wasn't wearing her suit, right now, at this very second, she was Dinah Laurel Lance, attorney at law. Not the Black Canary so the called for different tactics.

"I'm going to get the confession." He growled, in an attempt to explain himself, or was it the modulator, that made him seem angrier at the world?

Then you will do it on my terms, or I will wash my hands of the case." She said with finality while wiping her hands together, to convey her point though Laurel would never do that she thought but she had to find a way to keep the Hood playing by her rules."

"You're bluffing." The Hood said as he inched closer towards Laurel trying to intimidate her. She prayed that Thea was on target and would be able to tie up the Hood with her bola arrow before he possibly did an encore of the night when he stole her wig.

Of course, Laurel was no damsel, but she didn't want to blow her cover unless she absolutely had no choice.

She still felt the phantom pain of that damn arrow hitting her shoulder, then the blinding headache she had after she had been forced off a roof. It's a good thing for him that Laurel didn't tend to hold that much of a grudge, or The Hood would be missing some teeth and nursing a broken jaw and a concussion if the Birds had managed to capture him the first time around.

"Am I?" She asked with a quirked brow and remained steadfast, she refused to cower at the hooded man. "The judge already saw me angry after her dismissal of the evidence. She would easily vouch that I'm too personally involved."

She took some satisfaction at the archer gritting his teeth.

"What are your terms?" He enunciated slowly, in an attempt to rein in his temper.

"No killing." The same rule as they had agreed to at the beginning. "And you work with an associate of mine, just while you are getting your confession." She then cocked her head. "Consider it, a form of probation."

"What?" He growled.

" _What!?"_ She heard her sister mimic the other archer, though with less anger and more shock lining her voice.

She then spoke to her sister through the Comms. "Come down here."

The archer watched as Speedy, swung in from a grapple line. "I hear we are to be allies." She said. "How's the shoulder?" Beneath her modulator, Laurel could hear Thea's teasing voice.

Trust Thea to rub the salt in the wounds. She obviously still hadn't quite forgiven the hooded man for trying to kill Laurel.

"Fine." He addressed Speedy, then turned to Laurel. "You have got to be joking. She looks like a damn kid to me! She would just get in my way." The Hood said incredulously and with considerable malice.

Laurel was about to speak up to when Speedy got right in his face forcing him to lower his Hood and said cheekily, "Well Mr Hoody, this little girl." She said gesturing to herself. "Almost defeated you, so you don't have a lot of room to talk. Of course, if you want a proper demonstration of my skills then we can spar, right now. I would relish the chance to beat you again." She said with a sly grin, her arms crossed over her chest.

Oliver knew from the looks of her that the Red Archer was not in his league yet but she wouldn't make it easy for him and he didn't have time for this. The Hood said in a resigned voice "We will get what you need." He then growled. "But I don't like being manipulated."

Speedy just waved and gave him a wink, before calling after him, as he swung away. "Lose the doom and gloom as well, it's bumming me out."

* * *

Walter was started reading the file on Tempest and its involvement with his company. Miss Smoak had been able to quite quickly find the information. This young woman was at least in his opinion, quite intelligent, and her sunny demeanour, along with her naivete, brought him a sense of fresh air.

He wondered what Moira was up to, and wondered what this Tempest was, and the potentially dire implications this might have for his family.

* * *

Speedy and The Hood were outside the office. The Hood Looked at the petite archer. "What's your name?"

Speedy smirked. "What's yours?" After hearing his grunt, she answered, feeling satisfied at getting underneath his skin, and if she played her cards right hopefully under his hood like Laurel hinted at earlier. "You can call me, Speedy."

The Hood's mouth opened, in shock. "I knew someone called Speedy, once."

Speedy shrugged. "Common enough nickname, my sister, Black Canary, she named me Speedy, after the cartoon mouse. You know, small and fast." She lied, to the archer. Thea had grown up in the public eye, there was a minute chance that someone may have heard her being called her nickname before, though that was very unlikely.

The truth was, her brother gave her that nickname, after always following him around, and both Tommy and Laurel, caught on. Laurel, especially so, and thus they were the only ones who called her that name in private. There was no way she let them called her Speedy in public. After all, Thea had a reputation to maintain as a rich entitled princess back in the day. Well before Laurel took her under her wing and she gained a new sister, and another father figure.

The Hood nodded. He supposed that it was plausible that someone else was given the nickname of his sister, and that it was purely coincidental. Of course, it would be, Thea was always a rebel, but not one to actively hunt down street crime. She was his baby sister, and the only thing she had ever beaten up in her life, was a girl in high school who started spreading rumours about Thea being promiscuous, and even then, it consisted of hair pulling, and Thea slapping the other girl in the face. Hardly a vicious beat down.

Thea was a far cry from the vigilante in front of him. This young girl had reminded him of Slade before everything went to hell. This  _Speedy_ had given him the same dangerous look Slade had given Fyers and his men when they had come near him.

The unlikely pair waited on opposite sides of the door and on the Hood's signal stormed in; their bows, drawn. "Jason Brodeur." The Hood said.

"We are the Justice you cannot run from!" Speedy growled.

"What do you want?"

Speedy decided to let The Hood take the lead, after all, the more he spoke, and the more he did on his own volition would teach her and Laurel more about this man and finding out his true identity. Thea wondered if she would have a chance to plant a tracking device she carried on The Hood and one Cisco made just for her. Not even Laurel knew about it and would deem it too risky if she did. Thea turned back into the conversation.

"You arranged the murder of Peter Declan's murder."

"You want me to exchange myself for him?" The businessman scoffed.

"Avoid the death penalty. Something you are robbing Declan of."

Brodeur then saw a flaw in The Hood's threats. "Kill me, and you lose the leverage on Camille's murder."

At his grandstanding, The Hood and Speedy both shot an arrow each at Brodeur, a green arrow hit his shoulder, and a red one pinning his hand to the wall behind him.

Speedy looked at The Hood. "What is with you and shoulders?"

"What is with you and hands?" At the look Speedy gave him, he clarified. "I did research into you and your teacher…"

"Partner." Speedy corrected him, with an exasperated scowl. Laurel may have taught her everything she knew, but her sister was adamant that they were equals, just as they were at CNRI.

"You shot a freelancer in the hand, almost caught mine in the fire escape." He said with a little mirth escaping his disguised voice. "Guess both of us share a fondness of hitting a nonlethal body part."

"When you aren't killing them, you mean?" She bluntly asked, not expecting an answer. Just because Laurel was willing to play nice, didn't mean that she couldn't continue to irritate and get under The Hood's skin.

Surprisingly, the Hood did provide something of an answer. "I do what I deem necessary in order to carry out my mission. If that involves removing a few unsavoury elements so be it."

Speedy replied in a passionate voice, " There is always another way and you just snuff out the small potential everyone has. The ability to try again, and to recourse their lives. Be better people, spouses, siblings, friends or parents." He voices then became hard and unyielding. "My sister and I will not hesitate to bring you to justice if you cross that line in our city again. Despite what you did to Canary, she is giving you the chance you robbed from others."

All of a sudden, their face-off was broken when Brodeur's phone rang, The Hood forced him to answer it, and upon being informed of Brodeur's plan to murder Declan, he knocked out the man, as Speedy zip-cuffed him, to a filing cabinet. When she looked over her shoulder, The Hood had gone.

Speedy grumbled out loud. "Damn ninja jerk." Only a few more seconds she could have planted that tracker on him. As Thea headed to a nearby window and shot a grappling arrow to the roof, disappearing into the night, as she heard police sirens in the distance.


	10. Iron Heights

Laurel was trying to assure Peter Declan that there was still hope. She had Thea hunting more information, hopefully between Speedy and The Hood they would be able to get the bastard to sign a confession. She trusted that her sister would be able to extract that information just as Laurel taught Thea, and Ted taught Laurel before her.

"I need you to keep your spirits, up. The friends I told you about earlier, the ones that believe that you are innocent, are working on your case, as we speak."

Laurel noticed that she had to elaborate to try to get Declan to cooperate. "The three of my friends, they're working overtime, and calling in favors to ensure that you will be able to see your daughter again, without being in the confines of a prison cell."

Declan shook his head. "You don't understand, Miss Lance. Brodeur is a powerful man. He will destroy me, my daughter, you and everyone you love and care for!"

"He may be powerful." She admitted. "But all my life, I was taught to stand up, and not cower to people like him. A friend of mine, an uncle really, taught me that it's not about what sends us down to the mat. It's about whether we have the strength to get back up. Your daughter needs you, needs us to stand united against Brodeur. Izzy needs you to stand back up!"

"You're not the first lawyer I had that tried to feed me morsels of false hope, just enough to take what little money I have, what would be my daughter's inheritance, her college fund."

Laurel frowned. "Perhaps, when my partner and I came to you initially, we weren't clear. A year ago, we were given a donation by a philanthropist. She and her husband wanted to help CNRI to be able to offer pro bono legal work to those in need. We are on your side. Neither I, nor my partner, nor my…friend will let you stand alone, or give up."

Just then, the lights went out, and the prison alarms started blaring.

Laurel looked around, and relaxed her muscles, and breathed. She stood up, to stand next to the prison guard, and watched as prisoners and guards ran around in chaos.

The guard drew his gun and looked at Laurel. "The warden is setting up a secure perimeter in C-Block. You're on your own." He then fled, leaving her and Declan without any backup. Coward Laurel thought.

Laurel told Declan to stay in the room and that she was going for help. She slammed the door behind her after breaking the lock, with the heel of her shoe.

Declan was far safer where he was then him following her and getting killed in the process. After all, she couldn't protect herself and him at the same time. Laurel continued to follow the guard hoping to find a weapon she could use or at the very least, a phone to call the police.

As Laurel chased him down, she saw a group of guards locking a gate down a hallway and happen to see the bastard; Daniel Brickwell standing there with a vindictive smirk, as if he was enjoying the anarchy around them, while he was safely ensconced in his private cell by guards that seemed more concerned for his welfare and comfort, than then their own or the inmates fighting and killing each other.

Laurel gave him a cold look filled with retribution and silently promised if he tried to escape, she would rein hell about him, that would make last year look like a picnic!

Laurel turned another corner and continued running down another hallway, to see a pair of inmates one of whom was holding a guard's gun and about to fire at her.

Time seemed to slow down for Laurel as she knew she had a few seconds at best before she was shot. Knowing there was no time to dodge Laurel reached into her pocket and threw a small plastic ball filled with an explosive charge at the lights overhead knocking them out and shrouding the hall in total darkness even as the inmate fired his gun at her.

In a desperate move, Laurel let loose a sonic cry. She prayed that her cry wouldn't cause any major wounds if the bullets disintegrated into shrapnel, as it The Ninja-Archer's arrows did the year before.

As the backup emergency lights came on Laurel saw the inmates were holding their ears wondering what the hell just happened. And it seemed that her cry had only deflected the bullets fired at her and caused them to become embedded in the opposite wall.

Laurel never stopped moving though as she kicked the gun out of the inmate's hand and using flipped him over her shoulder, causing the larger man to hit the ground hard.

Somewhere close by Laurel heard a door being slammed open but didn't have time to think about it as the second inmate came charging at her with a knife. All of a sudden, a green arrow came out of nowhere and drilled straight through his chest.

She turned to see a man in a guard's uniform, a balaclava, and his bow and quiver in the open doorway. "Come with me." He said.

Laurel instinctively knew this was the Hood and followed the man thankful he showed up but scowling he had killed another person nevertheless...

As they ran down the cellblock Laurel yelled at the Hood, "Not that I am ungrateful, but did you have to kill him?"

The Hood just shook his head and said, "This is not the time to debate ethics, nor morality."

As he entered another room first, a large inmate slugged The Hood across the jaw and sent him sprawling to the ground stunned. As Laurel rushed to help him the imposing man picked her up with ease, and threw her into a prison fence but not before Laurel let loose a high kick to his head knocking him on his back.

Laurel bounced off the fence and rolled to the ground tucked into a ball as she had practiced countless times before, either in the gym or as Black Canary.

Laurel wasn't out of the woods yet, as she felt large hands wrapping around her neck, the inmate having crawled over on to her as she recovered from the throw.

She managed to turn her head, to see The Hood was still dazed and out of it, Laurel gathered her strength and japed her thumbs forcefully, and unrepentantly into the man's eyes.

The man stood and backed up, as he clutched his eyes and howled in pain. "Fuckin bitch! Eye-gouged me!" Blood seeped beneath his hands that were clutching his face.

Laurel looked around and saw multiple cameras so, using her canary cry was out. Neither she, Speedy, nor her father, had the political clout to keep her canary cry a secret if the cameras had caught her using it.

As the crazed man advanced on her and before Laurel could decide what to do next, she saw movement out of the corner of her eye and once again trusting her gut did a rolled backwards, as The Hood tackled the man and started pummelling him into the ground.

"Touch her again, and you're dead!" The Hood shouted as he mercilessly beat the man in the face over and over blood pouring from his nose and mouth.

Laurel realized with growing horror The Hood was going to kill the man and had to stop him!

Laurel rushed over and grabbed his right arm yelling; "Stop! I won't let you kill again!" Even as the Hood instinctively raised his left arm towards her, ready to attack her as he was blinded by bloodlust. Laurel immediately raised her hands in a guarded position, ready to dodge and retaliate if she had to.

Only the anger in his eyes, as they met her's, disappeared and became softer. "Laurel?" He sounded almost scared, because he, himself had almost attacked her in his misguided rage.

If he was being honest, Oliver didn't feel any remorse or guilt for the violent repeated punches he threw at the prisoner who was would likely have been killed, had Laurel not intervened. A death that Oliver believed would be just. He had nearly killed or majorly harmed Laurel.

What eating at him was; letting his anger once again get the best of him, and directing that towards someone he cared about. There was no excuse for that.

Oliver didn't have time to ponder this more and bolted in the opposite direction as the prison guards rushed into the prison yard in tight formation.

Laurel moved out of his way, as she saw officers hitting their riot shields with their batons and charging toward the inmates fighting all around her.

It the time to once again to play the scared victim. It was something she was getting quite good at. After all Laurel Lance, the attorney had no reason to not be afraid in this situation.

* * *

Oliver watched from his perch, on an adjacent building, after scaling over the prison wall. He had almost lost Laurel, but she had without even blinking had shoved her thumbs into that would be rapist's eyes.

Despite his morbid thinking, Oliver was impressed by Laurel's tenacity and resourcefulness. He had never seen her so vicious and she moved with a grace that reminded him so much of Shado and Tatsu. Two remarkable women one of whom was dead and helped shape him into the man he was today.

Perhaps, there was more merit to what Tommy had warned him about, in regards to Laurel. And yet, he couldn't bring himself to believe that  _his_ Laurel. A girl that he grew up with and fell in love with had changed into a warrior.

Perhaps, there was more merit to what Tommy had warned him about, in regards to Laurel. People can change a lot in five years. He was living proof of that. And yet, in his heart, he couldn't bring himself to believe that  _his_  Laurel, a girl that he grew up and fell in love with had changed into a warrior. A crusader for sure, but a warrior like Shado had been was simply out of the question.

A stray thought entered Oliver mind. What if Laurel was the Black Canary? On the offside and improbable chance, she was then Anatoly had ordered him to kill the love of his life. His beacon of hope during his five years in hell. Which meant…That he had almost killed Laurel!

Oliver swallowed the bile that rose in his throat and centered himself. There was no way in hell, Laurel was the Black Canary

He was definitely losing his mind if he thought that she could be Starling's Canary and even Slade while under the influence of the Mirakuru would probably agree with him.

The biggest reason why he believed that Laurel wasn't the Canary was; the vigilante seemed to possess special abilities consisting of a sonic scream that she had to have been born with or developed as a child. He certainly remembered being on the receiving end of that sonic boom. His back was still sore, even if the bruises have almost faded.

If Laurel was born as an enhanced individual, he would surely have noticed due to time as they spent together as kids and later adults, and as a couple.

Oliver couldn't fathom how Laurel could have kept that hidden from everyone for so many years, least from all him. For one thing, as much as he loved Laurel, she lacked the mental discipline and regardless she would have told him her secret. She was never one to hide behind lies and deceit when they were together.

No Laurel was a lawyer first and foremost. A defender of the people, not their black-clad avenger.

He then thought of his childhood best friend. Oliver with his dedication to his crusade hadn't been in contact with Tommy much. He sighed; the mission always had to come first. He would rather Tommy hate him, than not see Starling back to how it used to be before the corruption and crime slithered its way in, and took hold of the political and financial elite.

He watched, as both his sister and Detective Lance comfort her. Something, he wished he could have done.

As Lance, drove away with Thea and his daughter, he saw Laurel whispering something into her ear, which caused his sister to have a small smile.

* * *

Walter opened the passcode and entered the huge warehouse to see the remains of the Queen's Gambit. The destroyed ship, that his best friend had once cherished, was rusted from the salt of the ocean, and still had dead coral and seaweed hanging off the bow and stern after all this time.

As he looked over it, from the small balcony, a tear escaped his eyes, as he thought of his stepson, watching the ship sink with Robert, Miss Lance, and the shipmates.

He wondered what the hell his wife was up to, and what exactly was Tempest, and why did they attempt to kill Oliver, and kill Sara Lance, and Robert Queen?

A mystery Walter definitely wanted to solve at all costs. He owed his best friend, Oliver, and Thea a chance to finally rest in peace in peace, and or have some closure.

* * *

Laurel stared at the heavy bag, as she wrapped the cloth of the hand wraps around her hands and wrists.

Something felt off about The Hood, more than usual at least. He had come for  _her_. Laurel Lance, who was at most, an antagonistic ally. And yet, between him tackling the would-be-rapist after she had dealt with him. He proceeded to throw punches at the then, defenseless and injured man nearly killing him if she hadn't rushed over and stopped him.

She started throwing light jabs at the punching bag, before she started to actually hit harder and faster, letting her emotions guide her.

The Hood, after she had intervened—When she stopped him from killing the prisoner, he was ready to attack her, he looked like he was unhinged. Lost in some nightmare memory only he could see. He clearly had suffered some sort of mental trauma. That called into question his mental state. Laurel wondered how stable he really was and once again made her reconsider if it was a good idea to continue working alongside The Hood or capture him and let him have the chance to be able to receive medical assistance.

She was ready to tap in Thea and her father at the moment he landed a hit on her. As soon as she was able to flee the walls of the penitentiary, she would tell her family her intent on taking him down, no mercy nor third chances.

But his blue eyes—Before he hit her, he stopped himself and he looked as if he had committed the greatest sin of all. He looked sad, remorseful and embarrassed.

This strange reaction is what had her tied up in loops. He knew her, and not as Black Canary, but as Laurel Lance. The Hood was someone she knew, and yet, she couldn't think of anyone who had the means of being Robin Hood. It was as if she had hit a wall, or was blind when the answer should have been right in front of her.

Ollie could have been a suspect. Hell, he would be near the top of her list had Thea not told her that he had been through more hell than what he has led people to believe. And Oliver, despite his rogue-like nature, was never one to care about the people of the city.

A small part of her whispered that Oliver being through hell could have changed him dramatically.

Being alone on a deserted island forced to survive by any means necessary. Using a bow to hunt for defense and food would have been the first weapon he could have made beside a spear or a club.

She also couldn't help but note that The Hood showed up around the same time as Oliver had returned. A likely coincidence but then again Laurel didn't buy into coincidences in her line of work.

Oliver was clearly hiding something from her though. She would have to watch him closely. Until she could confirm her suspicions with solid evidence, she would give Ollie the benefit of the doubt. He didn't deserve to be accused as a murderer or mentally unstable. He had been through enough since his return, let alone what he had endured while on Lian Yu.

Despite her verbal denials to everyone she still loved him and couldn't bear to cause him more pain if she could help it.

There just had to be someone else! Someone she hasn't thought of yet.

She kept pummelling the bag with her fists and occasionally sending a kick to the side of the heavy bag, causing the rafters and the chain to creak slightly.

This only made her more determined to unmask the Hood as soon as possible especially after what happened earlier and get him under her control before, he was too far gone to be saved.

Laurel saw the potential for good in The Hood, and she would do everything possible to bring it out of him even if he didn't see it for himself.

* * *

Detective Lance was sitting with Hilton and the IT consultant for the police department. For the last few days, following Laurel's misadventure at Iron Heights, he and his partner had been sifting through the video footage of the Unidac Auction.

He knew that Laurel and Thea would be safe, he had given them the locations of the security cameras.

As they watched the stairwell footage, they saw Oliver Queen running up the stairs like a man possessed and pulling a bag and a green hood from the bin. Needless to say, Lance was shocked but not surprised at what he saw.

He promised Laurel that he would give Queen the benefit of the doubt, but everywhere he looked, Queen was involved somehow. Now, she would have to give him the benefit of the doubt and let him do his job.

Something in his gut had been telling him that there was more to Queen than either his sister nor Laurel were willing to see and now he had the means to prove it and perhaps save his daughter and adopted one from an obviously deranged murder who would only tarnish their reputation and goodwill they had garnered, or get them killed due to his reckless and violent ways.

* * *

Malcolm watched as Moira entered his town car, she looked frazzled. That was good, a feared director of an organization, meant that there were fewer opportunities for dissidence. It was something that he had picked up from his time in Nanda Parbat.

"You looked worried, Moira." He said gently.

The blonde woman nodded, as she fiddled with her sunglasses. "Why am I here, Malcolm?"

He smirked. "I think you know." He then opened his folder, and placed the SCPD sketch of The Hood, on the bench.

"The Hood?" Moira asked.

Malcolm looked out the window looking over the city, and The Glades. "What do these names have in common? Daniel Brickwell, Adam Hunt, Martin Sommers, Warren Patel, and Jason Brodeur?"

She gasped. "He's not just targeting the rich, is he?"

Malcolm shook his head. "No."

Moira frowned as she thought. "Daniel Brickwell, but he was targeted by The Woman in Black, The Canary, or it, Black Canary, now?"

The vigilante had acquired so many names in the past year, and with the exception of  _The Woman in Black,_ it always revolved around one word, one name; Canary.

He hummed, as he pulled out a couple of blurry newspaper clippings of Black Canary and The Red Archer. "The Birds of Prey, are a wildcard. One moment, my sources tell me that they fight against The Hood, but the other night, The Red Archer was seen with him, interrogating Brodeur and his bodyguard."

"They have formed a coalition against Tempest?" Moira asked, with a sense of foreboding.

The Hood was until now, singlehandedly dismantling the organization, and from what she had heard from Thea last year, and what the media has stated, The Black Canary was no slouch either, she had taken down Brickwell's cabal, and neutered the Russian Mafia in Starling. And in doing so, had unknowingly, pushed back The Undertaking, and brought the ire of Malcolm Merlyn upon herself.

* * *

Oliver smiled, as Digg made his speech about helping him help others. He finally had someone to watch his back, in the same way, Black Canary had her friend in red.

He didn't know where he stood with Canary, and he was sure that he was on thin ice one she found out about his meltdown, but this… _Speedy_ , was young and mischievous, a stark contrast to the Black Canary. Speedy seemed to get on well with him, though he did notice, that she, during the mission, she had often let him take the lead.

At first, he thought it was inexperience, but he noticed her eyes, hidden behind her mask, watching his every movement, and listening to every word he said. She was evaluating him, testing him no doubt trying to figure who he was really was, and or if his motives were pure and true.

If that wasn't strange enough, this  _Speedy_  had followed Laurel's orders as if it were the most natural thing in the world. Which begged the question, what was Laurel's part with  _The Birds of Prey_?

Was it that she was a silent partner working alongside them? Was she an ally, as she was to him, unknowingly?

He was broken from his thoughts, as Detectives Hilton and Lance had barged into the mansion, and read him his Miranda Rights, before dragging him outside, and into the back of their police car.

His plan was coming together. Oliver Queen would be accused and found innocent of being The Hood. It should allow him some breathing room to act without The SCPD and The Birds narrowing down their sights onto him or at least he hoped so. As he had learned the hard way not all plans worked perfectly and he would be paying a big price if this one failed. That thought was not as comforting, as the police car led Oliver away.


	11. Revelations

Laurel watched as her sister walked into the office with red eyes and tear-stained cheeks. A feeling of dread filled her stomach.

"Speedy? She asked, eying her eyeing her distraught. "What happened?"

Thea sniffed, the next thing Laurel realized was that her baby sister was in her arms, her head was tucked in the crook of her neck. "Your Dad…Arrested Ollie— He thinks he's The Hood." Thea mumbled, in between her tears. "I—We just got Ollie back, Laurel…"

Laurel nodded, and gently rubbed reassuring circles on her back. "Get your notepad."

She sniffed again, and looked up at Laurel, to see the fierce determination in her eyes. "What?"

Laurel gave her baby sister what she hoped was a reassuring smile, followed by a determined look. "Ollie needs Legal representation. CNRI will ensure that his rights are respected and that they are enforced."

Thea jumped over to her sister and embraced her, her head resting against Laurel's shoulder. "Thank you. I know how hard it will be for you to do this."

Laurel gently rubbed her back. "We're family, Speedy."

Thea looked up with determination at Laurel. "I won't let my brother be taken away from me even if that means him breaking out of prison. I lost him once. I won't lose him again!"

Laurel didn't say anything, though she shared the sentiment, she would only condone that action after every legal avenue was exhausted.

* * *

Laurel and Thea walked into the SPCD to see Moira and Walter waiting in the lobby, the matriarch of the family, looking anxious, and her leg was jittery.

Laurel walked past Moira and Walter as they stood, Thea also hot on her toes walked past her parents and entered the interrogation room without knocking.

As the two women walked in side by side, Laurel spoke, looking at Oliver. "Oliver Queen, stop talking."

Oliver and her father both looked up at her with surprise. "Laurel?" Lance muttered in disbelief.

"Hi, this interview is over, while I talk to my client."

Lance walked out with gritted teeth. She hated that she had to be the one to challenge him as an attorney for the first time, especially under these circumstances. She still recalled her father lightly recalling Lucas Hilton playfully teasing her father about his eldest daughter joining the 'wrong team'. He had defended her stating that even punks needed lawyers.

She felt her stomach twist. In defending Oliver, in spite of her theories of what he does at night, it was all conjecture, and until it was proven true, he was innocent.  _Innocent until proven guilty._ Then why did she feel like she was betraying her father?

Oliver looked at her with his blue eyes. "Not that I'm surprised that you would pull me out of the fire, but I have to ask…"

"You are my brother!" Thea answered fiercely.

Oliver nodded disappointedly. "So, you pressured Laurel?" He had expected to strong-arm Laurel into helping him. He had underestimated his sister and Laurel's friendship.

Laurel shook her head, at Oliver's disappointed tone of voice. "No. While I may have issues with The Hood, he is actually attempting to help the people of our city, as misguided as he is. But you, Ollie, have never shown that you have any sort of ambition to do the same."

There were times he wanted to Laurel he was the Hood but he wanted to protect her and not drag her into his dark world not to mention he was afraid of how she would react. Would she condemn him? Arrest him? Those thoughts plagued him every night. The What if's?

"Can we go?"

Laurel nodded. "You know the drill, don't leave the city, don't do anything impulsive or stupid, and be prepared to answer any follow-up questions, and ensure that you attend court on the specified date."

* * *

As Laurel and Thea were leaving the court, after convincing the judge to grant him house arrest, and him wearing an ankle monitor, to ensure that he met the demands of his probation.

Thea turned and followed Laurel to her car, "We never mentioned to Ollie, that he would have to wear that GPS device."

Laurel nodded, as she put her briefcase in the back seat, and turned on the ignition, and pulled away to drive to their office. "I'm showing Dad that Ollie can't be The Hood, but on the off chance, he is, it will keep him off the streets for a short while, ensuring that it will limit the about of bloodshed."

Thea nodded though she doubted her big brother could be The Hood, but then who would believe that she was the masked vigilante, Speedy?

Laurel hoped that putting Ollie under surveillance, it would simultaneously be an olive branch towards her father, as well as providing an avenue to prove her suspicions about Oliver being beneath the emerald hood.

Thea smirked. "Smart." She then sniggered. Her sister had been in higher spirits since they had provided Oliver legal counsel. "I suppose it also helped that it convinced the judge, and surprised the crap out, Ollie."

"That last part definitely helped." She then looked more serious. "I heard Tommy and him are organizing a party."

Thea shook her head and smiled "Why does that not surprise me?" She fondly remembered past times of Ollie and his crazy parties and how often she, and their parents had to often drag him away, once he was drunk and get him to bed. She had a feeling that history would repeat itself.

* * *

Oliver was staring between his father's notebook and his laptop, which was showing a still frame of a blurry recording of the Black Canary, back when she was simply known as  _The Woman in Black,_ quite the ominous name to give someone who was apparently helping save the city from Daniel Brickwell.

According to the news, Daniel Brickwell was on one of, if not the largest crime sprees not seen since Al Capone.

She had the luxury of starting her mission to save, as she called it;  _Protecting the little guy._ In truth, it wasn't that much different to his, only he had a more surgical and precise method to do so.

But she started if the news, and his sources were true, as a student to The Man in Black, later known as; Wildcat, before he disappeared.

So, that is why Laurel mentioned Wildcat, he was the mentor to Black Canary, and presumably her partner, Speedy _._

He had to ensure that his identity was not revealed simply because  _The Hood_  and Oliver Queen appeared roughly around the same time. That's why he planned him being caught the entire time, Lance was like a bloodhound on a scent. Oliver just had to make it seem like he was a red herring, and that Lance was on the wrong trail.

Sometimes he wished he had come back in secret and started his crusade as The Hood for a few months before Oliver Queen was conveniently rescued from that cursed island he was marooned on.

Oliver, of course, had been hit with a major snag. He hadn't anticipated Laurel persuading the court to force him to wear a GPS tracking anklet. How he was going to get it off him without setting it off was, something Oliver was still working on.

Laurel was certainly up to something, but he wasn't sure if it was just her simply protecting him from her father, or something else. More than likely it was the former rather than the latter, Laurel always had a habit of pulling him away from the fire.

Laurel's ties to vigilante's unbeknownst to him, made her a wildcard. When he returned, he never expected so much to have changed. Especially not Laurel, not his  _home._

He looked back down to the list, Mueller. He would have to convince Diggle to assist him with taking him down, and like Black Canary and Ruby Archer, he seemed to have a good heart and an interest to help those who are trampled on by the city elite.

* * *

Moira watched as Laurel and her daughter came to pick up her son, to take him to either their office, at CNRI or the SCPD.

She didn't know why, and right now she didn't care, she only hoped and prayed that her son's old flame and his beloved younger sister would make him realize how much he was about to lose.

As Moira thought about this, she realized she wouldn't mind having Laurel, as a second daughter, and wished with her all heart that Laurel and her son would rekindle their relationship and later down the line, get married. She would love to have grandchildren, who could bring life back into the now sometimes too silent manor.

Having Laurel and Oliver together would create a formidable partnership, the pair would be able to redeem the Queen Dynasty's name, and continue the Queen legacy. They would be better than her and Robert.

Moira saw how much stronger Laurel along with Thea had gotten over the years, particularly in the past year and a bit, and she believed they were fully capable of keeping Oliver out of the trouble that always seemed to find him. Moira scowled. Oliver seemed to take him being accused in stride as if it were a joke.

If only he realized, that he had the eyes of Malcolm and Tempest watching him. He had sparked their interest when Detective Lance had arrested him.

She knew that if Oliver was found guilty, despite his innocence, he wouldn't live long enough to celebrate Christmas, let alone see his jail cell.

For the first time for the last year or so, she prayed that either The Birds of Prey would apprehend the actual Hood, or The Hood was spotted killing another member of Tempest, while her son was safely under house arrest.

In many ways, she was grateful for Laurel and her daughter's friendship. Between the sort of kinship between those girls, and the shared glances between her son and the only living daughter of Quintin Lance. It provided the attorney with a couple of different incentives to ensure Oliver was safe, from himself, Detective Lance and Malcolm. That ankle device was a godsend as far as she was concerned

Now if only, she could ensure that her husband would not provoke the ire of Tempest. As of late, she felt that it out of her family, it was only Thea who was not unknowingly poking the proverbial bear that was Tempest.

* * *

Thea watched as her sister had left the room, after explaining to Oliver again, what was about to happen, she wasn't sure if Laurel was doing it for her own sake, or for Ollie's. Though she believed more than likely it due to both of those reasons.

Thea sat down, as she looked at her brother, who was staring at the door, that Laurel had just left through. She cleared her throat. "Ollie?" Her brother looked at her. "You sure you wanna do this? Give us more time to talk to Laurel's dad, he can be stubborn, but we can get him to come around with a little time."

Oliver shook his head. "I don't think anything short of this polygraph, or  _The Hood Guy_  showing up while I have this new piece of jewelry that Laurel had graciously given me."

"I just hope you know the risks, if you fail the poly, we won't have any choice but accept the plea agreement Spencer offered us." Thea silently made a pact that she would do everything within her power to keep her brother from being imprisoned, even if it meant her breaking him out of custody, or a prison cell. She lost her brother once; she wouldn't allow it to happen again.

Just then, Laurel sat down next to Oliver so that both members of CNRI were next to him. Detective Lance and a polygraph examiner walked in, the examiner hooked Oliver up to the machine and sat next to Detective Lance. Thea gave her brother what she hoped was a reassuring side hug.

Lance looked at examiner who simply nodded. The detective licked his lips. "Alright," He said as he tidied up his case file on the desk. "Is your name Oliver Jonas Queen?"

Thea's brother chuckled. "You don't remember my name?"

Lance frowned slightly at Oliver's amusement at the question. He bit down his irritation and clarified why the question was necessary. "The questions are needed to calibrate the polygraph." He then repeated the question. "I repeat, is your name Oliver Jonas Queen?"

"Yes." Came the measured response.

Laurel listened as her father continued the rudimentary questions to calibrate the lie detector until a question piqued her interest, and the answer did as well. Oliver lied. He had been to Iron Heights during an excursion in school.

She then out of the corner of her eye, noticed Thea, noticing her glance at Oliver.

He father then held up a sketch of  _Starling's_ _Robin Hood._ A man that had left her for dead, but also sought to save an innocent man from the death penalty.

"Are you this man in the picture?" Her father asked, gesturing at the sketch of the archer in question.

"No."

Lance glanced at the examiner and the polygraph, creating a pregnant pause. "Did you steal forty million dollars from Adam Hunt?"

"No. I didn't"

Laurel noticed that Oliver was not moving at all and was controlling his breathing as he answered the questions. That almost looked like an Asian meditation technique. Now, where did he learn meditation? On the Island?

Lance hummed. "Were you shipwrecked and forced to live on an island in the North China Sea for five years? On an island known as; Lian Yu?"

This was a test to see if Ollie was  _Robin Hood,_ not his time away from his friends and family. No matter how much she wanted to know the truth. Oliver would divulge the truth of what happened at his own discretion, and this was not the appropriate environment to reopen those wounds.

Laurel interrupted. "What is the relevance of the question to  _Robin Hood_?"

"Yes," Oliver answered simultaneously to her question, which caused Laurel to glare slightly at Oliver. It was her job to ensure that he was being asked relevant questions and to prevent him from answering potentially self-incriminating or irrelevant questions.

"I don't need to explain the relevance." He said eyeing his daughter and when his eyes met the young woman who was something akin to a third daughter to him, his voice gentled. "But since you asked me, whatever occurred on that island  _may_  have turned him into a remorseless killer."

Laurel watched as Ollie let out a shuttered breath, and Thea gently rubbed his arm, consolingly, while giving Lance a glare, even if she knew that these questions fair, and the man she respected was attempting to be professional. She felt defensive for her family, especially her brother who had endured hell.

Laurel knew that Thea knew something about his five years alone. Under different circumstances, she would be relieved that Ollie had let someone in, no matter how insignificant or small it may seem. Even if it wasn't her.

She idly wondered if she should start to try to get Oliver to talk more about what happened, rather than let it stew inside his head forever.

Her father continued his line of questioning. "The doctor who examined you upon you return…" He opened the case file to read a portion of it. "Doctor Neil Lamb noted that you have scar tissue covering roughly twenty percent of your body…"

Her heart wrenched, as she saw Oliver attempt to hide his raw emotions. Something horrible had happened on that island. She then looked over to her father, hoping that he would remain professional, and they hadn't allowed Oliver to trigger some form of post-traumatic stress disorder. "You have to ask a question."

"Is that where you acquired them?" Lance asked, after a few beats, watching Oliver's reaction and keeping an eye on Thea.

"Yes." Oliver croaked.

A tear escaped Thea's eye, at the verbal confirmation, that Oliver was tortured on that island. Thea's heart broke which followed quickly by rage. He wasn't alone and was trapped on a hellish island with psychopaths and sadists. Thea had vowed to never kill but at this very moment, she was close to breaking that promise if she ever got a hold of those monsters.

Lance's voice softened as he saw the pain on the three people before him, especially  _his_  daughters who loved the man in front of him. "When you returned, you told everyone that you were alone. Are you telling me that they were self-inflicted?"

"No." Came his measured voice, though his voice slightly trembled. "I didn't want to talk about what happened on the island. I didn't want to recall the hours of torture and hell I endured. If I said it out loud, then it was real…"

Laurel kept control of her emotions, as she heard Oliver tell them he was tortured. He never deserved anything like that, even if he had decided to betray her and sleep with Sara. She wouldn't even wish it on her worst enemy.

Lance asked one final question, and his voice remained soft. Laurel wasn't sure if it was because her father sympathized with Ollie, after enduring hell for half a decade, or he was doing it for her and Thea. Either way, she was proud that her father was somewhat softening his blow to the questions he had to ask.

"Have you ever killed anyone?"

Oliver bit his lip, and his eyes slightly welled with tears before he answered. "Yes, my father and I killed Sara, when we let her on The Gambit…We—I should have stopped her from coming aboard."

He then hastily ripped the cables off of him, and rushed outside, with Thea hot on his heels. "Ollie?" Thea called out for him but he was gone. Laurel should have known Oliver was blaming himself for things he had no control of. He pretty much told her when they first talked but she didn't know the extent of it or how much Oliver was torturing himself back then.

She was a fool.

The examiner read the preliminary results of the exam before speaking to the father and daughter. "I have to do a more in-depth look, but from a glance, he was telling the truth."

Laurel stood up and folded Thea's red leather jacket over her arm, that she left behind to comfort her emotionally distraught brother. "Can I assume that you will talk to the D.A. and you will tell her that you will be dropping the charges?"

Lance sighed and waited for the examiner to leave, and once he did, he looked at his daughter. "I will compromise with you, twenty-four hours. Give me twenty-four hours to see if The Hood appears."

Laurel pursed her lips, before answering. "You never were this hard on..." She lowered her voice to a whisper. " _Me._  When the Black Canary appeared."

Her father bristled. "Different circumstances, Laurel. And you never killed anyone before!"

"She—I killed The Ninja-Archer." She rebuked; her voice lined with self-deprecation.

"Self-defence and you showed remorse. I can still hear it in your voice." He persisted. Neither mentioned that The Ninja-Archer's charred corpse had disappeared between when she fled that night, and when she had told her father.

She suspected that Brick had his men dump the body in the sea, or had it disposed of in some other way. A way that he could keep his hands metaphorically clean.

"Vigilante's aren't normally covered by self-defense. At the very least, I have committed assault and battery several times over, not to mention an assortment of other crimes."

He pinched his nose in frustration. "I can't shake that he is The Hood. My gut is telling me that he isn't telling the whole truth."

Laurel sighed and nodded reluctantly. Her father had given Oliver the benefit of the doubt, it was now her turn to give her father room to do his job. It also meant that she could prove her unwanted thoughts about Oliver being The Hood wrong. If the Hood showed up, she would be proven right, and if he didn't, she would take that as a sign that there was more to Oliver than what he wants to show.

"Twenty-four hours. Then I expect a call from D.A. Spencer tomorrow night, formally informing me that any and all charges have been dropped."

As Laurel left to look for Oliver and try to talk him out of his guilt trip, she was going to do everything in her power to help the man she loved that was broken in body and spirit. For the first time in a long time, Laurel knew she wanted Oliver more than anything in the world and no matter how much he tried to push her away she was determined and she would have him. When Laurel set her mind to it there was no stopping her.


	12. Scars

Diggle had returned to inform Oliver about Mueller's location, and that he intends to sell his weapons in a warehouse.

"So, what's our move, Oliver?" Digg asked as he pocketed his phone. "Call the cops? Anonymous call?" Oliver shook his head, as Digg continued. "Ask your Avian friends?"

"No. The Man in The Hood is going to stop them." Oliver answered.

Diggle scoffed. "You can't leave, you have that fancy piece of tech wrapped around your ankle. And why not The Birds? You can contact them through your ex-girlfriend."

"I don't want to involved Laurel in this. And while she may trust Black Canary and this Speedy character. I don't."

Blind trust. It had been something that had been slowly ripped from his heart piece by piece. He wasn't about to repeat the past, particularly with anonymous vigilantes, no matter how noble they may seem.

He knew it only a matter of time before they pressured him to join them, and he doubted he would be given much choice in the matter. Oliver chuckled to himself. Him, a part of a team. Now that is something, he never thought would possibly happen to him. Life sure was strange

"She already is. She's likely neck-deep in vigilante work. She has been aligned with Black Canary while she was hunting down Brickwell. You also said that the way she fought in Iron Heights…"

"She can't be Black Canary!" Because that would mean… He swallowed down the bile rising in his throat, imagining shooting Laurel that night, and let hew fall several feet, and left her to die. "she's an attorney who works in The Glades. She already knew self-defense, it's not a stretch that she would seek out more martial arts to keep herself safe, especially after the Turf Wars."

Oliver shook his head. "The Hood needs to be seen doing this, and I never said I had to be the one under the hood."

"That's why you created this shindig? To have plenty of witnesses that you were here, while I am running around imitating Robin Hood?"

"I never intended you to fight Mueller, I just was planning on you being seen, to show that I'm not The Man in The Hood. But Mueller is going to flood The Glades with machine guns and an assortment military-grade hardware. He has to be stopped."

"Look, I never thought that this was going to be risk-free. But I don't like being played! You and I can't lie to each other, we have to be able to trust each other if we are in the line of fire or not."

Oliver winced. If he was going to have a partner, he would have to trust Diggle implicitly. "I'm sorry." Diggle shook his head in dismay and walked to the door.

"Am I going to jail?" Oliver asked as he turned to see Diggle holding the doorknob in his hand.

"No, man. The Hood has to stop an arms deal."

* * *

Walter poured himself a glass of brandy after he heard the news, his head of security was dead after he had asked him to assist him.

Something wasn't right, and Moira was involved, but he didn't know how deep this conspiracy ran. But he owed his step-children and Robert to see this through and grant them closure, regardless of the potential danger that awaits him.

* * *

Laurel walked into the Queen Mansion, as she saw Oliver dressed in prisoner suit. She shook her head and gave him a small smile. "Same old Ollie. Hey, do you think you could, perhaps, tear yourself away from this inappropriately themed rave?"

Oliver smirked, as he led her to his room. "You know, you're supposed to be dressed for prison, not a court date."

"Even prisoners need attorneys. So, I would say that I am aptly dressed." She playfully retorted.

Once they entered his room, Laurel let out a breath, she didn't know she was holding. "I don't remember when I was here last."

She then saw Oliver's cheeky smirk. "Tommy's Halloween party in 2005."

She grimaced slightly. "I wore those horrible fishnets."

"I thought you looked good," Oliver said while picturing in his head Black Canary wearing fishnets and how sexy she would look in them. he then quickly shirked off that thought as he looked at Laurel. A woman who fought within the lines of justice, not outside it.

His words and tone of his voice forced her to grin, and blush like a schoolgirl. She took a breath, steeling herself. "Listen… I came to apologize for my father, and his behavior during the polygraph."

"He is a grown man and has the right to feel whatever he wants. You don't have to apologize for him; besides, he was gentler than I deserved."

She found herself telling him about what made her father act the way he did. How after they found out that Sara died, her father clung onto the law, and she followed. But her mother couldn't and left them. Then she left, to go to Central City to leave the past behind, but kept in contact with her father. When he would often visit her during the holiday seasons, boarding the train and celebrating Christmas or Easter with her.

"I'm not telling you this to make you feel more guilty." She assured him. "I need you to understand him."

Oliver's smile faltered. "Why don't you hate me? You should. It is because of me I caused you so much pain and suffering" and that was only the tip of the iceberg concerning his regrets and mistakes.

"For a while, after the accident, I did." She said. "Then I met someone who helped me work through my rage. When I told him, what  _I_  thought happened, with you and Sara and The Gambit sinking. He called you  _my Casanova._ "

Both chuckled lightly, as she continued. "Ted, he gave me the tools to change, to move beyond the hate and misery. But after today, I realized that I never checked on you and ask if you were ok, and that was wrong."

She continued, as a tear escaped her eye, Oliver didn't look like he was doing much better. "I didn't know about the scars… or the torture you endured. No one deserved that, especially not you!" She said emphatically and hadn't realized that she had raised her voice. She then softened her voice, upon realizing how loud and aggressive she may have seemed. "But I'm asking now, I need to know, I need to see."

Oliver brought his hand up to his button. You sure?" He asked, quietly. He sounded and looked a lot younger than what he was at that vulnerable moment.

"Yes." She whispered.

Oliver then unbuttoned his shirt revealing all the heinous crimes that were committed against Oliver. She could see each scar that was caused by blades, bullets, and some sort of animal bite under one of his ribs.

"How did you survive this?" She asked as she unwittingly traced a scar that was on his torso, with her finger. She felt a dark piece of her wish she could give the bastards that hurt him, tortured him justice. Retributive justice.

She blinked away the thoughts, she wasn't sure she liked that part of her that was willing to torture or kill those bastards, even if they deserved it after committing those crimes against someone, she… cared for.  _Against her Oliver._

"I almost didn't. There were times when I wanted to die. But in the end, there was something I wanted more. "He replied, not looking away from her eyes.

"What?" Laurel said in a whisper.

Oliver hesitated and spoke one word that caused her heart to flutter, "You."

The next thing either of them knew, they found themselves tangled in each other's arms kissing each other. At that moment, it was just Laurel and Oliver, the rest of the world and their worries slipped away. No more vigilantes, criminals or honoring final wishes of dead family members.

It was the first time in a long time that they felt they were home.

Oliver then pulled back from Laurel, panting, it all became too much for him. Laurel look confused and moved forward to kiss him again but he stepped back, just out of her reach.

Doubts, regrets, and loss flooded his mind.

Every time he let someone get close to him, they died.

End of story.

He was cursed, Laurel, Gorgeous Laurel deserved someone who didn't walk in darkness. Oliver wasn't sure what love was and even if he was capable of feeling it anymore. People like him didn't get happy endings. Slade had thought him that.

A brother that he had lost. A prime example of losing someone close to him.

"Ollie?" "Please don't shut me out." She pleads as she reached out towards him again.

For a split second, she thought that the past was repeating, that he was playing his dance with her again.  _Hot and Cold_.

It wasn't until she saw the regret and the remorse in his eyes. She clenched her fist and locked her jaw shut. She knew what Oliver was doing and she would be damned if she let him get away again.

_Her and him, always and forever._

Oliver continued to back out of his room and spoke in a broken voice. "I am sorry Laurel." He gave her a sad smile. "But I can't get close to you. I have so many issues, and it's not fair for you to have to deal with them all. Goodbye love."

After saying his heartbreaking peace, he fled from the room. Laurel started to follow him, before relenting. She would give him, the space he needed. Though, they were not finished. Not by a long shot. Oliver had another thing coming if he thought she would give up on him.

Laurel didn't want Ollie to be a part of her nightlife if she could help it, but she had gotten very adept at keeping her vigilante and civilian life separate. And most importantly, she was tired of being alone. Oliver needed her and she would do anything to be with him.

Though it would also complicate matters in the unlikely chance he was The Hood. Laurel had been deluding herself though, if Oliver was indeed The Hood, she would never turn him in. She couldn't. She loved him. She had never stopped and would always love him until the day she died.

Laurel would help Oliver and help him to be a better man and prove that was love was stronger than the darkness that surrounded his heart. She would help Ollie as Ted helped her; she would help Ollie rebuild his foundations.

* * *

Moira walked into Walter's office, she felt her stomach churn at being officially asked by one of his assistants or secretaries for her to promptly come into the office.

Walter didn't smile, nor did he greet her as she came in. She offered a small joke at not being used to being ordered in the office after midnight, but he seemed unamused.

"I found the Queen's Gambit, Moira." He said in a voice devoid of emotion, he was done with the lying and deceit, it was exhausting and wrong. "And I know that you had the boat secretly salvaged. I had intended to move the vessel my friend had died in, and my step-son almost perished in, to a more secure location."

Moira gulped, as he continued. "My head of security, Mr. Hudson was tending to that very matter, only to be killed mysteriously in an accident."

He then took a sip of his brandy, to calm his nerves and strengthen his resolve. "That is why I have been distant of late, it is disconcerting when your wife, the woman you love and share your heart with, has been deceiving you so convincingly. In light of this, it has forced me to revaluate everything else you have ever told me."

"Walter… You're my husband." She stammered, she had not been expecting her husband to not only figure out her involvement but to also reconsider their relationship that they ha built in the last five years.

"That is correct." He interrupted her, coolly. "And yet, you still lied to me, Moira."

And yet, she persisted. She had to ensure her family was safe. "You have to leave this be, it's not safe! You will be invoking the ire of powerful people. You are far out of your depth."

Walter nodded. "Very well, I don't fancy drowning." Moira sighed in relief until she heard what he said next. "I shall be heading to Johannesburg. It has come to my attention it has been too long since a high-ranking official from the main branch of Queen Consolidated, has evaluated the South African branch."

"How long will you be gone?" She asked, attempting controlling her emotions.

"I don't know." He replied solemnly, as he stood and looked out the window at the cityscape. Moira knew it was his way of dismissing her from the conversation and his office.

* * *

Thea had decided not to attend her brother's ill-timed and tasteless party. Her house would be filled with people, smoke and alcohol. And since there would no doubt be gate crashers, there was a more than a slight possibility of drugs on the premises.

She wanted to avoid backpedaling into the life of debauchery, drugs, and alcohol. Quentin, Laurel and Jo had given her a second chance, and Laurel had guided her from a life a caring only about herself, to a selfless life, a life that is devoted to helping the helpless. She did this as both a Paralegal and an Office manager, and by night she was Speedy. She wasn't going to break faith with her sister, nor Quentin.

After a discussion with Laurel, she was convinced by her that her brother's party was a ruse. Thea knew that Oliver had changed, and prayed that her brother would not revert to his wild days of endless parties and all-around drunk.

According to Laurel, Oliver was putting on an elaborate act of some kind. But for the life of her, she couldn't figure it out what he was hiding, eventually, she hoped that between her and Laurel, they could solve the enigma that is her brother and help him.

She yawned, as she looked up at the clock, it was getting late into the night. She organized the cases and initialed Laurel's signature where it needed to be signed, before putting them in the appropriate filing cabinet.

Honestly, it still surprised and warmed her heart that, Laurel allowed and trusted her enough to sign documents in her name. It showed the confidence and trust her sister had in her, that she was trusting her with legal work that if she screwed up, could harm Laurel's career.

After Thea had packed up her things, she internally debated where to sleep for the night, Laurel's or her house. She eventually decided to crash in what her sister affectionately named;  _Thea's room_.

She for the last year, since discovering Laurel's secret, and joined her on her nightly crusades, she often bunked at Laurel's a few times a week, especially if they had a court date or had to provide legal counsel the next day.

For a while now, Thea had been having issues with her mother trying to control her life, to either train under Walter's tutelage to become the heir apparent if Ollie couldn't handle the business world, or go to college and work part-time in the QC legal department as a paralegal.

She was grateful that Laurel had provided her with a safe harbor, but lately she felt guilty that Ollie didn't have an escape, and that she left him alone. She had been dreaming of a day when she, Laurel, and Ollie could live together in a big house somewhere outside this crime-infested city. A pretty dream for sure, but she knew it was unrealistic. Laurel loved Starling so much that she is willing to donate more than her fair share of her blood to make it safe.

Thea locked up the office and walked out to her car when she was shoved to the side, by a man in a red hoodie. As she was shoved to the side, he snatched her purse and bolted down the road.

"Hey! Come back here!" Thea shouted at the hooded man, as she chased after the thief, he was slightly faster than her, he likely would have disappeared in the night, had she not been training the past year.

The petty thief likely thought she was an easy mark; she was going to prove to him that he had made the biggest mistake of his life.

She caught up to him, he was a few feet from her, when he was cornered between herself, and the large fence in front of him.

"You hand me the purse, and I won't press charges. And trust me, when I say that you will want to take my suggestion. Especially when your victim is a daughter of a cop and has a sister as an attorney."

The hooded thief turned slightly to give her a good look at his handsome face. He simply gave her an impish grin and said, "I don't think so princess." He then with ease scaled the fence, and the debris next to it, before he deftly landed on his feet, and ran down the street into the darkness.

She swore, and kicked the empty aluminum can at her feet, she could have easily followed the same way but somebody might see her and wonder how Thea Queen was so skilled in that regard. She had to keep up pretenses in this case. Sometimes having a secret identity sucked.

She was about to leave when Thea looked back at the fence to see something she hadn't noticed. A chain with an Eightball—likely was torn from her thief's wallet. She picked it up. Well it seemed fortune favored the bold

Her hooded thief would not be making a clean getaway after all. Speedy would get to come out and play. Thea sported a devilish smile as she jogged back down the alleyway.

* * *

Quentin was sitting at his desk, he had just returned from calling his eldest daughter, about him dropping the charges on Queen. He mussed up his hair, as he sighed. He hoped that he hadn't damned his relationship with his adoptive daughter.

He looked back up from a case file, as the young woman he was fretting about walked in, straight to his desk, not unlike Laurel had done countless times, not caring about protocol. When she made it to him, she gave him a genuine smile, but he caught a glimpse of something in her eyes. She came for a favor.

"Quintin, I was wondering if you could do me a favor?"

He quirked his brow. "I thought I would be one of the last people you would want to see for a long while."

"You weren't gunning for him for the sake of revenge. And you gave him the benefit of the doubt until you couldn't. You then asked Laurel to give you another day to ensure that he wasn't The Hood, despite your gut telling you otherwise."

Lance's eyes widened in shock. He then quickly cleared his throat. "Laurel tell you that we have dropped the charges?"

She nodded. "She did, and as grateful as I am, That's not why I'm here." She then dropped a chain with a little black ball or weight at one end.

He glanced at the chain and ball, before looking up at her. "Thanks… but this isn't exactly what I wear."

She playfully scowled. "Not you, you idiot!" She then pointed at the chain. "Can you run prints on it? As fast as possible?" She then smiled at him, as she said please.

His heart clenched slightly. The way she playfully asked him for something it reminded him of a mixture between Sara and Laurel.

"Is this for…" He then gave her a knowing look.

Thea shrugged, as she lowered her voice so his co-workers couldn't hear. "Speedy has a little solo work."

He grabbed his phone and walked to the alley next to the precinct for privacy, as he called her back an hour later telling her that the fingerprints belonged to Roy William Harper Jr. "He has quite the resume; Petty Theft, B and E, robbery, petty theft and stealing a car. You sure, you don't one of my boys to bring him in? I'm sure that my red and blackbirds have other things to deal with?"

He asked after he heard one of the three best sounds he has ever heard. One of his three daughters laughing. It made him feel lighter, that; Thea didn't hold a grudge against him for doing his job, no matter how much she may disagree with him.

" _I think 'Speedy' can handle him."_

"Alright, while his track-sheet doesn't say that he has a history of violence, just be careful alright?"

" _No Promises, 'Dad.'"_  She emphasized the last word teasingly. The way she said it made his heart clench again, she sounded so much like Sara.

* * *

Laurel walked into Oliver's room; the fancy furniture was now in ruins. She hovered around the door to prevent another hasty escape from the man she loved. "My father told me, what had happened. And then later, I received a call from the DA to inform me that all charges were dropped." She then fiddled with his polygraph results in her hand. "You ok?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." He said, coolly in an attempt to keep distance between them.

She nodded. She doubted that was true, but continued, she held up his results. "These are your results." Oliver looked up at her with curiosity. "My Dad asked, you have you ever been to Iron Heights." She noticed Oliver tense slightly. "It's the prison where I was saved by  _Robin Hood."_

That was the official story, but Ollie didn't have to know that she was more than capable of defending herself, and had done so long before; The Hood had shown up. She had to keep reminding herself, that Laurel Lance, the attorney had to remain somewhat meek and fearful in those circumstances. She wasn't behind her black mask.  _  
_

Oliver nodded, she persisted. "It was where you and I went to for our excursion when we were in school. I thought you were anxious or simply forgot." She then unconsciously found herself raising her voice slightly. "But the results show a slight flutter. And if you lied about that, you could have lied on the others."

"I thought you said, that I was too selfish to be this, masked crusader. It was never my ambition, you said that." He said sullenly with a hint of defensiveness lining his voice that Laurel almost missed.

She stepped closer to him forcing Oliver to move slightly back like just out of her arms reach.

He couldn't trust himself to be in Laurel's arms again hence him keeping his distance from her but his to his dismay Laurel seemed to have other ideas.

"Ollie… I saw your scars. You never have to hide that part of you from me again." Laurel said with such passion, he almost believed her.

Oliver finally stopped retreating and stood his ground. "Do you want to know why I don't talk about what happened to me there? Because if people knew, if you knew—" He took a deep shuddered breath. "Did you know that Lian Yu, is Mandarin for purgatory? A man promised me that he would make it feel like hell he did, but he wasn't the only one…"

He remembered Winters and Fyers torturing him, Conklin whipping him, and Kovar drugging him, then psychologically tortured him, allowing him to wallow in despair, and hurt due to the effects of the drug in isolation.

"If I told you about all the things, I had to endure… you'd see me differently. And not as some vigilante guy, but as a damaged, broken man. So, I put on a mask, Oliver Queen the carefree playboy. I can live with the scorn and disapproval, not with pity and remorse." He squeezed his eyes shut for a few moments, before looking anywhere but her eyes. "I don't know if I am even capable of feeling anything other than anger and fear. Those two emotions were constants during my time in hell, and that is how I survived by burying everything else."

Laurel stepped closer to Ollie knowing she had to reveal some of her secrets and unpleasant memories, if she wanted to reach him, and show him she could relate on some small level to what he had endured. "I don't care about your scars, Ollie." She then unbuttoned her blouse to reveal her scars to him.

A large scar that wrapped from her navel to slightly behind her back, scars from knives that were sprinkled below her chest. The scars that were hidden, where the cuts on her back, and the two ones created by arrows on either shoulder.

One-shoulder held the scar from the Ninja-Archer, the other from Robin Hood.

Oliver, like her, the night before, traced one of her scars.

_The one Al Sah Her had given her._

"How?" His voice was soft and lined with self-loathing and anger. She suspected that he blamed himself for being marooned on the island for the five years, that he couldn't defend her.

She gently took his large calloused hand in her's and gave it a small squeeze, as his thumb gently rubbed her knuckles. "Got caught up in The Turf Wars, some others are from Central City… Doesn't matter. It's not the same… not really, you endured hell. But… I had to show you that scars, physical or otherwise won't make me think any less of you. Ollie, we are the same."

He returned from hell, and came back to Thea, came back to Laurel only to find she had endured her own personal hell.

Oliver gulped as he watched her rebutton her blouse. "I'm sorry that you had to endure that." He said, pointing where the scar sat behind her blouse.

"Likewise." Laurel then gave him a small reassuring smile. "After last night, it's pretty evident we still have feelings for one another, though you do your best to hide them from me.

Oliver remained motionless, but he did, however, wrap his arms around her small frame. For the very first time since he had returned, he felt at peace.

Laurel looked up at Oliver determined to never let him go. "I know you think are damaged beyond repair. That you don't deserve happiness. I will prove those thoughts wrong. For a long time, I thought I would never say these words to you again..."

Laurel took a deep breath and said the three words Oliver had dreamed of hearing for five long years. "I love you, Ollie." She then kissed him again with such love.

Oliver's heart accelerated in fear that he was dreaming for a minute and any second he would wake up back in hell.

They stop kissing and Laurel looked at him and smirked, knowing she had gotten past his walls.

It killed Oliver not to say the words I love you back to her but he couldn't break. Too much depended on him and his mission came first even above his happiness.

Oliver looked at Laurel's eyes eyeing the adoration and love in her gorgeous green eyes. "I care about you Laurel and I always will but there are still things you don't know about me and couldn't possibly understand. We live in two separate worlds."

Laurel put her hand over his mouth and shushed him. "And I told you I don't care and I am not going anywhere. You are worth fighting for, and you are worth it". She then moved her hand from his lip to cusp his cheek. Now I have to go and you need to start to recuperate. I will see you soon, Ollie"

Oliver watched Laurel head out the door before she did so, she turned around and said one last thing and something that he would cherish forever. "I promise you, Oliver, you will never be alone again." He didn't get the chance to disagree before she left his room.

* * *

Roy into his house, he dropped his keys and his wallet on the coffee table, as he slumped himself onto the old sofa. He grabbed the TV remote and clicked the power button several times. He smacked the remote in an attempt to make it work.

"What did that poor defenseless remote ever do to you?" Asked a disembodied disguised voice, that reeked of sarcasm.

Roy looked around the room, ready to grab the knife that was hidden a few feet away from him.

"The knife, under the chest of drawers?" The voice asked. "Yeah, might have hidden that somewhere else, it was too sharp to be hidden, it could have nicked an unsuspecting finger."

Roy calmed his breathing, and clenched his fist, quickly trying to decide between fight or flight. "Where are you?" He asked into the darkness, he then saw a figure step out from the shadows, and was illuminated from behind by the streetlights.

"Here." She answered.

He squinted his eyes, to try to make out if it was Sin or someone else trying to freak him out. "Who are you? You a cop?"

He gulped as he saw her exchange her bow into her other hand. He felt cold at the sight of Black Canary's sidekick or partner. He had heard conflicting stories from both the news and people who claimed to have seen them.

He wondered what he did to garner her attention. He hadn't done anything out of the ordinary.

"Really?" She asked sarcastically. "You seriously think I'm a cop? A cop, a cop who is dressed in a tight red and black costume with a hood?" She asked again rhetorically. "You sir, have a mind of a scholar."

"Ok, ok…" He said, and under his breath, he called her a smartass. "What's your name then? And why are you in my home?" He said inching towards his backdoor, ready to flee into the night.

"The media have called me; The Red Archer. I prefer Speedy."

He scoffed. "You can say that again. I heard that they're calling you Speedy now. Can't say that's much better."

"It has sentimental value." She easily dismissed the comment.

While she spoke, he couldn't help but admire her body. He couldn't see much due to the lack of light, but from what he could tell, her suit was somewhat close-fitting. He couldn't deny that Speedy was hot.

She cleared her throat to bring his attention back to her, and not her body, he looked at her sheepishly. "If you are thinking about running out on me, you won't get far. I never lose sight of my prey."

"Ok, fair enough. You answered my first question and the second?"

"You're lucky I feel generous tonight, Harper. Hand over the purse you stole a few hours ago, with everything that was inside it, and ensure it's all intact. If not… Let's get into that later." With that, she gave him what he thought could have been a wink or a trick of the traffic lights outside.

How do you know my name?" Roy demanded; he hadn't given his name. Following him home was one thing, but getting his name, was something very different.

Speedy replied cheekily. "I know a lot about you, Harper. Born, Roy William Harper on July 13, 1991, in Starling City. Abandoned as a child, and forced to grow up the foster care system, until you ran away two years ago, and have lived in The Glades ever since. A long rap sheet consisting of petty theft. A lone wolf, rebellious but you have a heart of gold."

Roy moved his mouth but couldn't speak. It seemed his life was an open book to Speedy. He wondered how long he had been on her radar.

"Now that I have answered your questions. Would you be a dear, and hand over that purse you stole?" Speedy said sweetly.

He nodded dumbly as he grabbed the purse from its hiding place underneath a loose floorboard beneath his kitchen table, and gently tossed it to the female archer, who deftly caught it.

"You know who that belongs to?"

"Thea Queen, a trust-fund brat. She totaled a car last year that she had received as a birthday present. She loves designer labels, and was in the tabloids like her brother was for partying too much. It's not like she would miss it."

Speedy took a step forward. "It's not about if a person would miss it. It's about what's right," She said. "A free piece of advice, Mr. Harper, it's not worth it, stealing and criminal conduct. Turn over a new leaf. I don't want to have to tie you up, and wrap you with some pretty pink ribbons for the boys in blue."

He scoffed at her threat. "You think I am afraid of the cops? Lady, I have lost count the number of times I have been arrested. I always get out and the cops are too busy with internal audits and low manpower to worry about a small thief like me."

Speedy stepped closer to him until they were a few feet apart. He refused to feel intimidated by her presence, as she took another step bridging the small distance between them, he could smell her sweet-smelling floral perfume.

"Oh, I knew you would be difficult Harper, I like that about you. If you don't change your ways, then you and I will get to be best friends and trust me you don't want that." Her lips slightly upturned at that. "I will be everywhere nowhere. You won't have a moment's peace, always looking over your shoulder. I will make it my personal mission to drive you crazy until you break."

Initially, he didn't seem to mind the idea of a sexy vigilante being at his side, until he realized that it would kill his reputation on the streets. And Sin sure as hell would never let him live it down.

He nodded. He wasn't as stupid as the cops thought he was. He knew he was getting off lucky, he knew what, The Birds had done to other criminals, both large fish like; Brickwell and smaller ones. Sin had told him about how she had watched a carjacker's shoulder gets hit from Speedy's arrow, and he knocked himself out on the windshield of the car he was attempting to commandeer.

"I promise, no more stealing. You have my word." He looked up, as the lights came back on. He scanned the house for the female vigilante, but she had disappeared into thin air.

He would follow Speedy's advice and make amends and apologize to Thea Queen soon. He wanted to turn over another leaf for the quick-witted vigilante, Speedy.

Once Speedy was a fair distance from Roy's residence, she looked up at the smog-filled sky, with a few twinkling stars that managed to peak through the pollution. She saw something in harper that caught her eye, He had the potential to be more like herself and her sister and much as she would loathe to say it aloud The Hood as well.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is longer than any other of the chapters so far. But I felt that it warranted the longer word count due to what is happening in the story, and establishing relationships and character arcs.


	13. Vertigo

Roy had been thinking of a way to impress Speedy since their encounter a few weeks ago and hopefully get her attention. He had had a feeling the Red Archer had been keeping tabs on him despite his promise to turn over a new leaf.

A few days ago, he had heard about a drug deal going down in the Glades with some new drug called Vertigo. A drug that guaranteed to mess with your mind and give a user the ultimate high, though the drug was expensive as hell.

Roy staked out a likely meeting place and armed his knife, He lowered his hood, covering his face waited in the shadows. He soon saw the lone dealer selling some Vertigo to some teenagers. He clenched his jaw. This bastard was seeking a highly addictive, dangerous drug to children. If the high didn't kill them, their addiction would.

Roy stalked out of the shadows and quickly sent a hard punch to the dealer's face, sending him to the ground. Roy then looked at the two kids and growled. "Get out of here, and I don't want to see you buying drugs."

Roy then kicked the drug dealer, who was attempting to get back up on his feet. The force of the kick sent the man sprawling back on the ground, coughing and spluttering. By the time he looked up, he saw red and blue lights illuminating the alleyway.

Roy instead of running, knelt down on his knees and complied with the police officer's demands and was handcuffed and dragged into the police car.

* * *

Quintin sighed, as he watched Roy Harper sit by himself in the interrogation room, from behind the one-way mirror. He had just called Thea to ask her to come down to the precinct. He turned as Hilton opened the door for Thea to enter into the observation room.

His eyes remained on Harper, as Hilton closed the door, leaving father and surrogate daughter alone. Over the last year, it had become common knowledge in the force, that Thea was to be treated as if she were his own blood.

"Thea, thought  _our_  Red Avian friend had sorted Harper out, why is he in my custody a week after you two had a discussion?"

He heard his adoptive daughter walk slowly next to him, "I told him to turn over a new leaf, he even apologized, we started hanging out together… He's not a bad guy Quintin."

He exhaled audibly. What was with his daughters having a thing for punks like Queen, Merlyn, and Harper?

"I could put him under the eye of someone I trust, but Laurel and you are too inundated with your double load as it is."

Out of the corner of his eye, he watched as Thea pensively chewed her lip, while gazing wistfully at Harper.

Thea knew that him getting in trouble was her fault, she should have worded things more eloquently so that her words couldn't be misconstrued. Then an idea hit her, Ollie could keep an eye on him, while he was working at Verdant, he couldn't be trying to play vigilante or so she hoped.

She mentally kicked herself, after she started getting to know Roy, she should have realized that he would try to do something to impress  _Speedy_. He kept mentioning her idly in conversation, she was caught somewhere between jealousy and pride that Roy was trying to impress her—Speedy, but it wasn't  _her_ , Thea Queen. Thea wasn't afraid to admit she was developing feelings for Roy, but all he had eyes for was her alter ego; Speedy.

Thea knew Roy was stubborn and would continue to go out, regardless of what she said or even if she threatened him as Speedy. He was a boy determined to do the right thing, and prove to Speedy, he could just as much a hero as she is.

Thea couldn't very well tell Oliver how Roy wanted to be a vigilante, that would open a can of worms she would rather avoid. Just then an idea popped in her head; What if Speedy trained him herself, so Roy wouldn't be reckless and looked for trouble. She would be there to rein him in and make sure that he was safe and well equipped.

Thea knew she was just as capable and learned a lot from Laurel, who taught her almost everything she knew. Thea laughed as she had always wanted a sidekick after all.

After Thea had started planning the logistics of her plan, she told Quintin about her proposal. "You aren't going to like this, but what about Ollie?" She watched as Lance stilled for a brief second before exhaling. It was something he seemed to do when it came to Oliver as if he was calming himself.

And yet she persisted. "It would give Ollie someone to mentor, and keep himself from being in his own head, as well as giving Roy something stable in his life, so he doesn't go out punching… Who did he punch up?"

He cleared his throat after a few seconds, "Uh, he was found assaulting a drug peddler, he sells a new drug known as vertigo, meant to give one hell of a high, supposedly."

* * *

Laurel stepped out of her car, as she walked towards Verdant. Oliver's newest pet project, as she walked in, she saw many familiar faces, faces of young men and women who she had either defended, provided legal counsel or assisted their families.

Oliver was seemingly hiring people from The Glades, people from low-income families. Between hiring and keeping the sometimes-troubled youths and young adults off the street, and providing revenue for The Glades, he was attempting to gentrify the area.

She felt her heart break, perhaps she was wrong every time she had dismissed Oliver, stating that he didn't care about the people of this city. She could also rule out him playing the gallant knight to get in her pants, even if she wouldn't mind him doing so. Since his return, he, despite what he wanted people to believe was no longer a playboy, and the fact that he had remained distant from her since the night she confessed her feelings for him. Laurel was determined to chase after him.

Laurel saw Oliver's constant shadow, his bodyguard. She slowly made her way towards him, as she watched Oliver assisting his employees with moving the tables and chairs for the nightclub. She found herself smiling as she watched him joking with a couple of young men; she and Thea had helped by getting Lieutenant Pike to agree to drop the charges he had on them, provided they did community service for several months.

She looked towards Mr. Diggle, he had a phone to his ear, as he walked around the corner past the bar. She instead walked towards Ollie. Perhaps he reconsidered, or at the very least would hear her out, considering he was handling social gatherings rather well for someone who had endured hell at the hands of psychopaths and sadists. Perhaps he wasn't as broken as he ought to be. What he claimed to be.

She thought back on her reasons why the pair of them should try again, despite his fears. She was coming up short, at least none that didn't sound hollow. After all, he had been with her every step of the way. Oliver had been the one to indirectly inspire her vigilante name. All because of the pendant he gave her for their anniversary a year before he was marooned. A pendant with a small black canary on a gold medallion.

He had unknowingly been on her journey from the start. And didn't they deserve a chance to be happy?

While in her thoughts, she hadn't realized that Oliver was standing beside her, watching her with a small entertained smirk. "Penny for your thoughts?"

She jumped back slightly. Was she losing her touch? How the hell did he sneak up beside her?

"I, uh… I wanted to apologize if I came on too strong… Especially since it seemed to rattle you, I'm scared that I might have ruined everything in being too rash. That it forced you back into your shell."

Oliver remained amused; she could tell by the small glint in his blue eyes. "Laurel Lance scared?" He then slightly brushed his arm against hers, she enjoyed the warmth of arm against hers. "It must be one for the history books." He teased.

Laurel found herself sniggering back, despite her jumbled nerves. "Listen, Oliver. I don't regret being forward with you, but I am willing to wait as long as you need for you to come around. Would you like to go to that Italian restaurant that we used to go to, not necessarily as a date, but as friends?"

She felt Oliver tense and broke contact with her. All she felt was the cold. He had erected his walls again, every time they got close to each other, he would throw up the walls to put distance between them. It was getting old really fast, but she had to remind herself of the trauma he went through.

Oliver couldn't maintain eye contact with her anymore, "I can't. "He hesitated, as he pointed past the bar. "Dig is signaling me to have a talk."

Laurel looked over to see that his bodyguard wasn't there. When she looked to where Oliver was, he had disappeared. She curled her hand into a fist. He was avoiding her and lied to her. Before she could follow him, Thea called her telling her that she wanted to hunt for some people selling some sort of new drug.

Oliver would get a reprieve for now, but as far as she was concerned, they hadn't finished talking. The pair of them had never been good at communicating, but at least she was making the attempt.

* * *

The Hood was chasing one of the drug peddlers that sold Vertigo, he jumped down from the wet tin rooftops of the abandoned warehouses, that surrounded the alley, He might be unable to see the man, but he could hear the drug pusher running on the wet concrete, and puddles caused by the current wet weather.

As the man darted from one alley to an adjoining one, he looked behind to see that The Hood had disappeared. He ran over to where a derelict shipping container sat and was trying to quickly open it, when he heard footsteps of multiple people, as he jumped behind the corner of a nearby brick wall, a sonic boom narrowly missed him, though the shipping container that hid an old prohibition tunnel beneath was launched on the other side of the alley, and was upside down, from the blast. Creating an ear-piercing screech, and sparks, as the steel was pushed across the asphalt path.

He swore under his breath and ran in the opposite direction, going through the edges of the warehouses until he came to the water's edge, and started climbing the rigging, he had to hide from the vigilantes.

The Hood watched him climb, before launching an arrow to pin the man to the rigging.

He heard the drug dealer plead. "C' mon man! I'm making an honest living, providing for my kids, they'll starve without the money."

The Hood remained silent, knowing the man was lying, a desperate person who would say anything to avoid punishment or retribution.

"There's nothing honest about what you do. You will tell me now, who is the supplier of Vertigo or I will break you!"

After taking Roy as a member of his staff at Verdant, Thea had told him about how he had gone after a vertigo supplier to impress a girl, though he sensed she wasn't telling him the whole truth and Roy wouldn't say thing further other then he made some dumb mistakes.

After Oliver had done a little more research into vertigo, he realized that it was more prevalent and at the moment more important than his father's list.

He then heard the footfalls of The Birds of Prey making their presence known to him. The Hood gritted his teeth. He didn't need them interfering again. Luckily, he had no intention of killing this bottom-feeder, he would cut the head of the snake instead.

He ignored his contemporaries, as he continued his interrogation. "Tell me and you live."

The man looked past him, realizing that The Birds may be his way to avoid further injury. "Please! Help me, this crazy bastard is gonna kill me!"

To The Hood's surprise, as well as, the suspended criminal's The Bird's remained silent, except Canary had to place a hand on Speedy who looked like she wanted to jump in. They were evaluating him again, seeing what he would do. Though there was no doubt in his mind, if he attempted to kill the man suspended in front of them, he would be forced to fight them. And with The Birds behind him, it only took one of those sonic booms to send him in the frigid water.

After a few seconds of dead silence, the man seemed to resign his fate to The Hood. "He will kill me." It was a final plea but it held none of the defiance it once held.

He nocked his arrow, aiming at the man. "Whoever you fear, fear me more!"

The man screamed as he surrendered to the demand from the emerald archer. He closed his eyes in fear and told him that a man by the name of; The Count, he was the one supplying Vertigo.

The Hood turned his head, to see Black Canary and Speedy were no longer behind him but were watching from the building above. He decided reluctantly to see what they wanted from him. The Hood fired a grapple arrow and hoisted himself up to where The Birds were waiting.

The slight breeze, caused Black Canary's coattails to flutter like wings behind her.

"What do you want?" He asked, not looking at Speedy, but rather, Black Canary, it was evident to him that she was the leadership behind their operations.

Black Canary took a step forward, undaunted by his intimidating presence. "Come to negotiate a truce of sorts. A way to prevent us from constantly butting heads. You join us, instead of being the dark avenger. On two conditions though."

This intrigued him, even if he didn't intend joining their team. He had his own mission and it must always take precedence.

"What are your terms?"

"You follow my lead to see how well you work with our team for a little while. Second, you lower your hood and show us your face. It will provide insurance and incentive for you to keep to stipulation three, which is renouncing your killing tendencies. The city bleeds enough from others, they don't need you adding to it."

Oliver thought about it. It wasn't a bad deal per se. He would always have back up beside Diggle who didn't really go into the field with him and perhaps he could convince the Birds to help him with his mission.

The Hood asked a question, "I didn't hear any mention of you telling me your identities?"

Black Canary looked at Speedy and said. "We would share our identities with you once we felt you wouldn't go rogue again and stuck to the terms we set, just a short trial period."

That didn't make much sense to Oliver but then again, he did shoot Black Canary with an arrow, so she obviously still had trust issues with him. As much as it bothered him Oliver knew he couldn't accept those terms. Maybe in time but not today.

"Counter proposal. I don't show you my face until you both do the same, and I will not join your team, though I would occasionally work alongside you, not for you, if our interests align. And I will not take a life unless in a dire situation."

Speedy moved in front of her sister. "You know you're delaying the inevitable, sooner or later, you will either be with us or in jail." She said adamantly, before her voice became one of a teasing nature, one that she knew would irritate him, and was satisfied with him gritting his teeth. "I could always use a sidekick, if not your hood would be a nice consolation prize," Speedy smirked at seeing the small scowl on the hooded archer.

Black Canary pulled her back, giving her a slight reprimanding look, before looking at The Hood. She didn't like to compromise, but she would avoid a fight if she had to. She would get him to join them soon, to prevent unnecessary bloodshed. "I will hold you to your promise. If you stray from it, it's over. And you'll go to prison."

Speedy then spoke, breaking the eye lock between The Hood and her sister. If she didn't know better, she could have thought that Laurel was staring at her brother, but he was found innocent of being this archer.

"Let's test that theory, what's your interest in Vertigo?"

"What's yours?" He challenged The Ruby Archer.

"Vertigo is plaguing the city, in such a short period of time, it has become an epidemic. Do you feel the same?" The black-clad vigilante asked, playing the diplomat between the two archers.

"It is." He revealed. "I will work on things on my end. I will be in touch."

* * *

Oliver stood outside the Bratva headquarters that hides behind the veneer of a legitimate mechanic garage. He watched as Diggle, studied the Cyrillic writing.

"Whatever I say, or do, just follow my lead."

He knew that The Bratva would have questions about Black Canary. Even, if he led them to believe that she was killed, and Speedy recruited someone to fill her boots.

He walked in with two small duffle bags in either and as they entered the front door.

"Russian owned?" Digg asked.

Oliver nodded, his eyes scanning the garage. "Yeah, they used to own a large Taxi service and a restaurant. Starling's resident avian changed everything after the Turf Wars."

Diggle nodded seriously, he spotted the elderly enforcer with the head of Starling's Bratva chapter, or what is left of it, Alexi Leonov walked towards them.

The Alexi exchanged pleasantries and not so subtly questioned why he was absent from associating with them, despite being a Bratva Captain. He explained that he was surveying the land, so to speak, checking what endeavor would benefit him. Pharmaceuticals. Vertigo in particular.

He dropped the bags full of cash at the man's feet. "Vertigo is a tough market, and only one seller."

Oliver gave Diggle a side glance, making sure that his friend and bodyguard was masking his emotions. "Which is why I would ask you to organize a meeting. A favor."

Alexi scowled slightly as if he had dealt with The Count, in the past. Likely an attempt to rebuild the chapter to how it was before Black Canary and The Turf Wars. "He is a difficult man; he doesn't enjoy making new friends."

Oliver gave Diggle a look before he handed Oliver the police files, he stole from McKenna while he flirted with her. He recalled as he flirted with her, he didn't find the adrenaline rush as rewarding as he used to. Not like he did, when he flirted with Laurel a week or so ago when they remembered her wearing those sexy fishnets that showed off her long legs.

He hated that he had blatantly lied to Laurel, but she was safer working on her side of the law, then working on his. He couldn't risk her being killed, or worse, out of revenge from the people he targeted.

Despite Laurel's claims about them sharing scars, guys like him didn't get the girl, not without putting her life in jeopardy. No, he would have to love her from afar and be happy for her when she eventually gives up on him and moves on to someone who can be with her without the lies and baggage.

She deserved a house with a white picket fence, a dutiful and loving husband and a family. Things he couldn't give her, not while he was The Hood. Oliver felt morose just thinking this until a stray thought perked him up slightly. He couldn't help but notice he found the Black Canary attractive and alluring during their time together in the field and wondered what she looked like under her mask.

Oliver knew he was in love with Laurel. There was never up for debate, his love for her saved him during life and death situations. But, was it possible to have feelings for another woman as well? One who fought with such passion and ideals she believed in. If that was indeed the case, perhaps he had a future with Black Canary instead.

That was an intriguing thought and one Oliver hadn't considered before. That is to say if they could ever get past all their trust issues. And yet, he still couldn't fathom a world where he could love anyone else, except for Laurel.

Oliver handed the report to Alexi. "This is everything they have on him. Tell him it's a gift." The Russian mobster scanned the document for authenticity before stating that he would do what he could.

"Provided, "He said, adding a caveat. "You do a few things for me."

"Anything" Oliver replied in fluent Russian, earning him a surprised look from Diggle.

Alexi's lips upturned into a predatorial smile. "We have reports that say that say;  _Kanareyka_ is very much alive." The older well-built enforcer took a few steps towards them. "It calls into question about your loyalty to your brothers."

He gave Digg a verbal warning not to unholster his sidearm. Oliver smiled at Alexi. "She's dead. I put several bullets in her chest, before taking her wig and giving her a final bullet between the eyes. I then disposed of her body." He checked his watch. "She should have been dissolved in the acid vats in an Ace Chemicals plant in Blüdhaven."

Alexi remained unconvinced. "And yet, a woman fitting her description is prowling around the city at night."

"Her allies replaced her; it wouldn't look good if The Canary of Starling City disappeared one night would it? And they haven't made a move against  _us_ , so we leave them to deal with  _our_ competition, to revitalize our Chapter back from the brink."

He had to protect Black Canary from The Bratva, in the one percent chance that she is actually Laurel. At that thought, he felt his stomach coil, if it was true, he almost killed Laurel. At least in some small way, if the minute chance she was Starling's Canary, he would be atoning slightly by saving her life.

"True enough,  _moy brat_." He then clicked his fingers, the enforcer left, and dragged a bloody wheezing man that was not much older than Thea's friend Roy. "Now, for favor."

Oliver cocked his head, as Diggle tensed. "What did he do?"

"He didn't follow orders. Kill this man for me, and I will not only believe that your allegiance to your brothers is genuine and that you have the ability to kill and follow orders yourself." He then smiled, as Oliver kept his emotions hidden behind a mask. "I will also ensure that you will have a business meeting with The Count."

Oliver snatched the man from the enforcer, and told Diggle to shut up, and not to interfere, he acted as if he straggled the man, in reality, he used the technique that Yao Fei had used to provide the illusion that he was working with Fyers. The man flailed helplessly before he became limp in his arms.

Oliver then dropped the seemingly lifeless body on the ground and walked away, giving Diggle a small glare, as he composed himself, and stared at Alexi.

The enforcer checked the man's pulse and nodded, telling his boss that the man was dead.

Not long after, Diggle and Oliver drove away, before Oliver told him to pull over and follow him. He revived the man, before knocking him out.

"Woah!" John exclaimed, "Nice trick, you gonna teach me that one?"

Oliver chuckled. "Nope." He then became serious. "You need to arrange a new identity for him, and smuggle him out of Starling."

"So what? The Hood takes out The Hood takes The Count out?'

Oliver shook his head. And explained that his relationship with The Bratva after not killing Black Canary is tenuous at best, he couldn't risk letting them know that he used them for information. He would go to the meeting as Oliver Queen, and then follow him discretely to his hideout.

"You gonna tell your new girlfriends about the meeting? Or are you using them as well?" He asked, as he silently got back into the car, and turned on the ignition.

* * *

After talking to her father, he gave her a small sample of Vertigo, after telling her that Oliver was going to obscene lengths to help stop the spread of Vertigo. By actually attempting to buy the illicit drug from The Count to see his face. He did this after what Roy had told him about the effects it has had on people he knew.

Laurel silently thought that Oliver was trying to atone for not being able to help Thea last year escape her drug habit, by helping Roy and the people of The Glades.

She made an unannounced visit to the Star Labs Warehouse in Starling, in her suit, she hid in the shadows as she heard someone speak. She watched a man in a motorized wheelchair get into a taxi, asking to be taken to the train station. Before he was helped into the cab, he looked in her direction with what Laurel assumed was an unassuming smile at the city.

After watching the taxi become smaller as it went down the street, she jumped down and entered the warehouse belonging to STAR Labs. She could hear the idle chit chat from a few security guards and warehouse workers, they were getting ready for some big science event next year.

She cleared her throat, as Caitlin walked past with a man with short dark hair. Caitlin excused herself from her partner and followed Black Canary into the small lab.

"I need you to test this for me." She said, handing a small plastic test tube, containing the drug, to Caitlin.

Caitlin hummed, as she studied the golden liquid. After about ten minutes she looked up from the microscope. "I assume that you don't care about the chemical make-up, and what a location on where it is produced?"

Black Canary nodded. "Yes, I already know enough about  _the liquid death_  from the police reports, enough to give you nightmares. But a location would be nice, thanks."

Caitlin smiled as she started typing and pulled up a map on the computer monitor. "You're looking at anything in this circle, a ten-mile radius." She said pointing her pen at the blue circle on the monitor that showed a map of The Glades.

But why did it always have to be The Glades? Just once she wished that it wouldn't be in the desperate part of town that needed Law, Order, and help from the big businesses and the local government. The low-income families didn't deserve this on their doorstep.

Laurel noted that it wasn't far from the warehouse where she was almost killed by the Ninja-Archer— Where she killed him. It was one of the reasons why she kept handing The Hood an olive branch, because she hated having a death on her conscious, no matter if it was defensible.

She felt her burner phone vibrate and answered it. "Hello?"

She heard her father on the other end of the phone.  _"Baby, The Hood got in contact with me, I already called Thea, she will meet you and him at the location; he said that it's where you negotiated a truce."_ He then sighed.  _"I hope you know what you're doing getting in bed with a guy like him."_

Laurel smiled at his overprotectiveness. "Thanks for the heads up,  _Detective_."

That was something that she was never going to get used to, calling her father;  _Detective_ and not Dad _._

She pocketed the phone, and smiled at Caitlin, I appreciate your help, expect something nice to be sent your way. And I hope that it won't cause issues for you at work."

Caitlin dismissed her concerns with a small wave of her hand. "No one knows that I'm helping you, besides; My fiancé, Ronny and you know, Cisco."

Black Canary smiled, "All the same, thank you." She would have to find a nice bottle of wine or a bottle of bubbly to show her appreciation for Caitlin's assistance and congratulations on her engagement. Perhaps, she and Speedy could split the cost and send the bottle as a gift from The Birds to her.

* * *

The three vigilantes stood a block away from the abandoned juvenile detention center. Black Canary noticed that The Hood was swaying slightly on his feet.

"You alright, Robin Hood? What happened to you?" She asked carefully, it looked like he could barely stand.

The Hood tried to compose himself, but was failing miserably "I had an unfortunate encounter with a dose of Vertigo."

Black Canary was shocked and unnerved that a man as strong and fit as him could be so easily taken down by what appears to be the side effects of the insidious drug; Vertigo, The Liquid Death.

Canary straightened her back and said in a steely voice. "You shouldn't be on your feet but in a hospital! Are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"It doesn't matter. The mission comes first." The Hood replied. The Birds just looked at him with shock and disappointment.

Black Canary was finding this man was infuriating! Did he have a death wish?

"I have a location on the…" He closed his eyes in a vain attempt to prevent feeling the effects of the drug in his system and started to keel over before Canary rushed to his side and wrapped her arms around his waist to hold him up. The Hood nodded in thanks and continued. "The Count, you still interested in him?" He slurred slightly over his words. As if he was coming off from a bender, or a large hangover.

Canary backed off a little after Robin Hood got his bearings back. She nodded, as Speedy cocked her head to the side. "Can you fight, while fighting the effects of the drug? You should probably sit this one out, and let us handle it."

The Hood growled back, "I can fight!" He huffed. "And I won't sit this out. Without my intel, you won't find him. And, if your next question is about me shooting my bow, don't. I don't need it to be able to fight."

Laurel bit her tongue, she already knew the location but remained silent, this was Robin Hood making the first move towards helping the law, rather than taking the law into his own hands. It also indirectly told her that The Hood had some scientific resources behind him, perhaps someone akin to Cisco or Caitlin? Either that, or he had a degree in science. Perhaps she should look into Doctors with a science background and have been in the military.

Canary just shook her in frustration. They didn't much of a choice. "You are too stubborn for your own good." She said, "You better not die on me Robin Hood, or I will find a way to bring you back to life and kill you myself."

The Hood smiled despite the pain he was in, "Promises, promises, Pretty Bird. Just follow my lead." He then started walking in the direction of the Glades the Count was manufacturing his drugs.

"The rules still stand,  _Hoodie_." Speedy reminded him. "No killing."

"Fine. Let's get him."

* * *

After entering the seemingly abandoned building, Black Canary followed Robin Hood up the while Speedy covered the exit, to ensure that during the fight, with his men, that The Count wouldn't escape.

As they ascended the stairs in complete silence, a thug on patrol appeared in an open door on the next floor. The Hood spotted him, clumsily ran up the stairs grabbing his submachine gun, before the thug could use it. They fought for it for a few seconds in a tug of war, before the Hood delivered a vicious headbutt and forcefully ripped the gun from his hands. He then shoved the thug down to Black Canary, who kicked The Count's man across the knees and threw him down the metal stairs.

The Hood didn't pause for second and vaulted across the railing of the staircase, kicking a large man, forcing him to collide with the cement wall behind him, likely giving the thug both a concussion and a broken jaw.

Another thug grabbed the Hood in a bear hug from behind, as he did so, Canary threw her tonfa, hitting the thug in the back of the head stunning and breaking his hold. The Hood then easily threw him over his shoulders and into some boxes containing glass bottles which shattered upon impact and flew into the face of another gunman who Canary had just kicked in the side of the head.

Oliver could hear them sob, and cry out in pain, as they landed on broken glass or suffering from the numerous cuts to their faces.

Luckily, Black Canary was there and pulled The Hood up after he stumbled on a step and quipped, "Don't die on me now Robin. We'll make a Bird out of you yet." She then forced his arm around her shoulder, to carry his weight, all of a sudden, she was forced to use her canary cry on a handful of thugs running towards them from a set of large double doors that had opened. Oliver barely withstood the sound without blacking out, while, Black Canary seemed unaffected by her powers.

Her cry sent The Count's men flying along with the splintered remains of the doors.

The Hood by then managed to stand on his own feet without stumbling, after muttering his gratitude, he ran ahead of her and took out several men with flechettes.

As a man pulled out a machine gun, a bola-arrow wrapped around him, forcing him to drop the gun, Black Canary threw her baton at the man, knocking him out.

The Hood raced up to The Count who was starting to escape. Turning him around and relieving him of the narcotic, and quickly prepared to inject it into the drug lord. "Enjoy the fruits of your labor!"

Black Canary threw her tonfa, hitting the Archer's hand, and sent the syringe flying to the floor, smashing the syringe vial.

Both of The Birds scowled at him, with Speedy raising her bow at him. "What the hell? What was the one rule?"

"He's not dead. And he wouldn't either if I gave him justice for the hundreds of people he poisoned."

Black Canary frowned angrily. "That was not the agreement. He  _could_ have died. That Liquid Death could have sent him into cardiac arrest. We don't operate that way."

The Hood looked at her and simply said: "I do."

It was at that moment that both vigilantes heard an arrow being loosed. Speedy had fired an arrow at The Hood.

The Hood easily dodged the first arrow from Speedy, despite being handicapped by the Vertigo. But failed to dodge the second one, instead of the arrow piercing his skin like he expected it exploded into a wired bola that wrapped around his body like a steel vice. The Hood was surprised. No matter how hard he tried he could barely move enough to pull out a flechette.

The Canary seemed to be frozen with indecision and regret while Speedy started to walk closer to him and gloated "Finally got you, Hood!" She sneered. "You can't cut through that bola this time." She then gave him a smirk. "Now let's see that pretty face of yours".

Speedy reached for his hood to yank it off. But The Hood was prepared with an evacuation contingency. The Hood threw the flechette at Speedy's feet, which caused a concussive blast, followed by a cloud of smoke.

The Hood leaped through the window, smashing through one of the windows, while still bound as he heard Speedy yell, in frustration. The brush broke his fall, he stumbled to his feet, to see Diggle's black van. Digg jumped out of the vehicle, and quickly undid the bindings and dragged him in the van and took off.

"Having girl problems Oliver?" Diggle asked amusedly while driving.

Despite the pain, he was in from the fall smirked, before he scowled slightly. "No." Though his words seemed less forceful than he wanted them to be. Diggle didn't anything but chuckle as they drove back to their base.

As the smoke cleared, Black Canary looked around waving what remained of the smoke away. She noticed that The Hood had disappeared once again. She had to admit; he was good at that. She turned to glare at her sister. "What the hell was that?"

"He used us!" She snarled.

Laurel knew she was right, but as long as they didn't have to hunt him down, he could remain anonymous, she didn't want to see her sister's broken heart, upon seeing her brother beneath the hood, if it was him, and he somehow weaseled his way out of the anklet. She suspected that his constant shadow, John Diggle was a part of Oliver's nightly adventures.

"Next time, we discuss it, before we blindside each other, we can't do that if we are a team."

Speedy looked down at her boots, before looking at her sister. "I'm sorry, we can't blindside each other. Are we ok?" She said pointing between their suits.

Laurel sighed, as she gently squeezed her sister's shoulder. "Water under the bridge, Speedy."

Speedy scowled playfully, at her sister, as they walked out of the building "Next time I am using industrial-strength chains on Mr. Hoodie."


	14. A Thread

Oliver and Digg were training in The Bunker with live steel knives, both deflecting and attempting to tag each other with their knives.

"You've been working hard for the last month, or so," Diggle commented. "Taken a handful of names off the list."

"Yeah, guys are just handing whatever I want over to me, as soon as I pay them a visit."

"Any more encounters with Black Canary and  _her_  Speedy, after your vertigo adventure _?_  And your unspoken truce between you and them?"

Oliver shook his head. "Haven't seen either of them, much." He had occasionally seen either Black Canary or Speedy watching him from a distance, but it was few and far between. They had more pressing issues than him. "When I was going to take down Bettinelli, The Birds had already taken down his money-laundering operations, before they took him out. It was kept largely out of the media for fear of more corruption in the city."

Not only that, but they hadn't spoken to him since the vertigo incident. He had likely burned his bridges with them, particularly with Black Canary. Not that he could blame her for giving up on him, between trying to kill her, and continually being antagonistic towards her.

Thinking about pushing away people who wanted to help him, he thought about Laurel. Despite the countless times, he had pushed her away with little regards to her feels, she kept remaining insistent on being by his side. Perhaps, he may want to start taking a step in the right direction with her.

"Still think they don't know about the list?"

Oliver shook his head. "They spend their time taking down street criminals,  _The Spooky Crew,_ The Bettinelli Crime Family, and common street thugs, and protecting battered and vulnerable women. It's not like, the people on the list and her mission wouldn't eventually become the same thing."

Oliver eventually found an opening in Digg's defence and slashed his arm. His friend grunted.

"Other round?" Oliver asked jokingly.

"Nah, I have to take my nephew to tell Santa what he wants for Christmas."

Oliver smiled. "Christmas?" He sighed. "I didn't even realise."

Digg snorted, as he wrapped a bandage around the shallow wound on his arm. "That, my friend, is because you have been logging so many damn Hood hours since you have been avoiding Laurel as if she had the plague."

Oliver rolled his eyes. It was better for him to get Laurel to cease any sort of tension the pair of them shared. It was safer for her, no matter how much trouble, she seemed to find herself in.

"No…For the last five years, I had to do whatever was necessary to stay alive, it forces you to forget the small things, like Christmas, Easter or birthdays. Just had to keep your head on a swivel, and keep on foot in front of the other and keep moving."

Relationships that went beyond temporary alignment of goals also tended to cause issues. Slade, Yao Fei, Maseo, Tatsu, Tatiana… He desperately didn't want to add Laurel to that list. But did that mean that he wanted to remove her from his life? He didn't think so, though he knew that even if he couldn't be with Laurel, he knew without a doubt he couldn't live without her being in his life.

He loved her. And perhaps he had to show that she mattered before they drifted apart permanently.

He then found himself describing his woes to his friend…really a brother in arms, a confidante, a way Tommy could never be. Not after everything he had to endure. He hadn't really spoken to Tommy in weeks, their interests no longer seemed to be aligned. He seemed content to live life the way he always has done, drink and sleep with supermodels.

Oliver found himself describing what Christmas was like before the island. His father covering the entire mansion in Christmas decorations, trees in every room.

Digg smiled. "My advice, the list can wait. Spend your first Christmas as a changed man with your family. "He then cleared his throat. "Given any thoughts to what I said?"

"Yeah," Oliver mumbled. "But I know for a fact, that it can't be her. Scars or no. Laurel worships her father, they argue and claw at each other, but she would never actively participate in vigilantism. Aiding them for the right cause, sure, but not being one."

And when he had assisted The Birds, he was sure he could smell Laurel's sweet-smelling perfume. But it was more than likely side effects from the drug. If she was truly Black Canary, and she found out who he was, would she still want to be in his life?

And he didn't see any scars showing a puncture wound from an arrow on her. Which means that it couldn't have been Laurel. A small part of him whispered that she didn't show him her shoulders, but he ignored it. Laurel wasn't a vigilante, and any similarities between them were coincidences. They had to be. "Besides, John, where would Laurel get the money for her activities? Despite being a lawyer, she isn't rolling in cash."

He said thinking of how he saw the platters of fruit and deserts on a table at CNRI and Thea talking about how they donate a lot of the food to the homeless, The SCPD and the Fire Brigade. "They are getting paid in food, and occasionally works from tradesmen in lieu of money." He then chuckled lightly. "It has been driving my mother insane that her daughter has and I quote;  _willingly subjected herself to poverty._  She really wants Thea to work at Queen Consolidated. _"_

Digg chuckled before he nodded, and patted him on the back before leaving, and wishing him a Merry Christmas.

* * *

Oliver called out to his sister as she appeared from around the corner. "Hey, Speedy."

Thea moved towards, him. "Hey."

"You look very pretty, what's the occasion?" He asked, looking at her clothes.

"Mom and Walter are having a dinner party with some big wigs." Oliver whistled as she nodded. "Best night of my life." She said sarcastically.

Oliver smirked. "Where's Laurel? You two are usually joined at the hip."

Thea shrugged; he knew that she wasn't happy about him avoiding Laurel. "I was the one who was conscripted, I offered Laurel a seat at the table, but she looked like she would rather pull her own teeth than dine with them." She then tilted her head to the side. "She's likely in that drab gym of hers."

She then huffed slightly under breath in amusement. "Mom quietly asked me to leave, after I had politely asked the fire-chief if he and his people enjoyed the large bushels of fruit-mince pies, that we were given by a small bakery from The Glades, for helping them, or if they were willing to donate money to local charities to help gentrify The Glades."

As he listened, something she said piqued his interests. Laurel never told him that she owned a gym. "She owns a gym?" He found himself asking.

"Well…  _her_ gym is the wrong phrase, but her friend owns it, and lets her do whatever she wants with it." Thea sniggered at her thoughts. "She could literally take a sledgehammer to the walls and her friend would just shrug, and say that he never liked that wall." Thea then looked around conspiratorially, "He doesn't even ask for rent. According to Laurel, he wouldn't accept the money, because he considered her his family."

Oliver smiled. It was good that she had friends. Even though he didn't exactly know where they stood with each other, he still felt jealousy rise from his stomach. He really needed to think of a way to reconcile and make it up to her for him being a bastard to her.

He then looked around the lobby of the mansion. "Where are the decorations?"

"Hmmm? What do you mean?" She asked, looking around awkwardly.

"No wreaths, trees, tinsel, mistletoe…"

"I suppose everyone has been really busy. I'm sure that they haven't got around to it yet." That was a lie, she and Laurel had put up decorations in the office, and her apartment, Quintin had brought eggnog and pizza that night for them, and joined them decorating their places with festive yuletide decorations.

Since last year, she had celebrated the holidays and her birthday with Laurel and Quintin. It was never the glamorous occasion, as it used to be when her father and Oliver around before the island.

The celebrations at the Lance's was smaller, and more family orientated. It was more familial in how the celebrations were conducted. It was just the three of them. She wasn't forced to wear expensive designer dresses or make small talk or compliments to her mother's friends or associates. Or people that gatecrashed her parties. Laurel and Quintin were happy if she only wore sweat pants and an old drab t-shirt, as long as she was comfortable.

He then smiled at the thought of relaxing with his sister. He hadn't had the chance to do so, logging all his time as  _The Hood._  "Hey, Speedy. Does Mom still hide candy canes around? You remember how we would race each other to see who would finish first?"

He wanted to take up Diggle advice and finally take a step into the actual world. And spend time with his family, and enjoy their company.

Thea gave him a smile, that he hadn't seen in a while. "Yup." She preened. "I always won."

That made him chuckle. "We have two very different memories because I seem to remember my baby sister cheating. She would try so hard to crunch the cane as quietly as she could."

"That, my dear brother, is what we legal professionals call;  _A sore loser_!" She then smirked. "Well, I doubt you will find any. She went sugar-free, after The Turf Wars, said something about not wanting to rely on sugar for stress."

Oliver watched, as Thea left the room. So many things happened in his final year abroad. Laurel returned home, she saved Thea from jail, Laurel was caught in the crossfire during The Turf Wars. Then she took Brickwell down with the help of a vigilante.

He wished he was there was a way to stop all the heartache for his family.

He walked into the dining room to hear his mother's guests unbeknownst to them, talking about him. Chortling about him being a criminal, and that it wasn't his job to redistribute the money that Hunt had stolen.

Oliver noticed as he spoke to Malcolm, that when he went to drink, he could see extensive burn scars that travelled up his wrist, forcing Malcolm to wear his Rolex watch on his dominant wrist.

Not long after Walter re-joined the table, an officer walked in a whispered into the commissioner's ear. He then stood up. "My apologies, Moira, Walter. Something has come up."

"Everything ok?"

"The vigilante has struck again. He just put an arrow in Adam Hunt."

After he left, he was called by Diggle, likely to give him a heads up about the Copy-Cat Archer.

* * *

Laurel was sitting in her lounge room with her father, he handed the two women photographs of Hunt's murder, and picked up his Chinese food container.

"I don't think it's Robin Hood," Lance explained. "He already neutered Hunt, and the arrows are black, not green."

He looked over to see Thea, who had just entered the apartment and helped herself to their meal and asked with a mouthful of rice, her hand covering her mouth as she spoke. "I was never the suspect?"

"As far as  _some_  cops are concerned, a zip-tied criminal, with a red arrow in their extremities means something. Your known close association with Black Canary, makes you in some ways, beyond reproach." He explained. Though even though the vast majority of the Police force respected The Birds of Prey, some of the higher-ranked officers, resented them.

He then looked over to see Laurel not look pleased, but she paled and saw that she hadn't touched her Chow Mein. "Baby?"

"I thought I killed him…he should be dead… I—I saw him burn." She said with a haunted look in her eyes.

"The Ninja-Archer?" Lance asked.

Laurel nodded, her glassy eyes never leaving the photograph of the black arrow. "He used the same arrows." She found herself, clutching her side, where the arrow sliced her from naval to back.

"Dammit. I should have remembered, I must have forgotten between hunting Brick, Oliver's return and The Hood."

He then patted his daughter on the shoulder and kissed her crown. "He's alive, baby. You don't have to carry his death on your conscious anymore." He said, before gently squeezing her shoulder. "I have to get back to work, Baby." He then looked at his surrogate daughter. "You keep an eye on each other, alright?"

Thea nodded. "Will do." He gently squeezed her shoulder as he walked past her.

After he left, Laurel pulled out her phone that started to ring, she put it on speakerphone and answered.

"Hello?"

An automated voice spoke through the speaker.  _"You have a call from Iron Heights Petitionary, prisoner name…"_

" _Daniel Brickwell."_  Brick's voice said.

" _Press one to accept or press two to decline."_

Laurel then pressed one, much to Thea's dismay. "Brickwell?" Laurel asked, she had hidden her feelings about the Ninja-Archer, her voice became hard as steel.

" _You rejected my offer of a meeting months ago. In light of Al Sah Her's return, we should speak face to face."_

"I'll think about it," Laurel responded, before hanging up.

Thea glared at her sister. "Why are you going to waste your time with scum like him? He tried to have you killed!"

"I stopped Al Sah Her, it's my job to clean up my mess." She said with tense shoulders. "Brickwell had worked alongside if not was the archer's superior in the cabal. If anyone knew about Al Sah Her, he would."

Thea nodded, although reluctantly. "Do you want me there?"

Laurel shook her head. "I need you to go over our case files from last year and see if we have any mention of our Ninja-Archer. If we do send it to my dad. And call me if anything happens."

Thea nodded but was unhappy about it. But she was doing something that Laurel would likely disagree with, she had been training Roy in disciplined fighting. Tonight, she planned on upping the ante to sparing.

As much as she loved teaching Roy, she often felt out of her depth. Laurel and Ted seemed to be able to articulate how to do a certain move set, and the patience to patience to provide assistance. She didn't always possess those qualities, and yet she would persevere.

* * *

Malcolm stood outside, in the cold, glaring at Moira. He was getting frustrated with her and her family, The Hood, and The Birds of Prey.

"Mr Miller contacted me; he was quite shaken up. Your beloved husband interrogated him and seemed to possess information that he otherwise should be ignorant of. Namely, The List."

"Let me…"

"The time of negotiation and compromise is over. We are under siege, Moira! Tempest is being backed against the wall; I am being backed against the wall! And I don't take kindly to that. The Hood, The Birds and Walter."

"I need to have breathing room, The Undertaking will not be hindered by Walter or our masked enemies. And right now, Walter has poked a wounded bear. The question is…Should  _our_  associate handle this matter?"

"Like he handled Black Canary, last year?" Moira asked indignantly.

Malcolm smirked. "He didn't anticipate her tenacity. Rest assured, if you contact her, he will finish what he started, before you and yours are punished for your attempted coup." He then rubbed the scar tissue on his arm, as it the suit her wore chaffed the scar tissue. "I will also kill those associated with your family. A great purge of Starling. And it would be all on your hands."

* * *

Nelson Ravage was walking down the alleyway making a phone call, as an arrow was shot into his chest through his back. He turned to see a figure in black leaving, as he died.

* * *

Lance sat at his desk, he had been demoted by a man who was more worried about his image, than protecting the public. The commissioner, either wanted him to lay the blame of Hunt and Ravage at either The Hood's feet or Thea's, regardless of the evidence of a previous crime the Ninja-Archer committed.

The commissioner was too busy playing politics than doing his job! Either that or he was putting his petty jealous of the Birds' or The Hood cleaning up the streets, while the SCPD get back on their feet.

Lance sure as hell, would never lay that sort of blame on his surrogate daughter's shoulders, not only because she was innocent of this crime, as was The Hood, but the rambunctious and loyal young woman gave him and his eldest daughter something to live for.

She had been a beacon for the past year. She had provided them with a light that had been absent for almost six years.

But he had to do something, Laurel was too close to the case, which meant Thea was as well. His eyes darted to the phone; The Hood had given him. He wasn't too close, and he also had a vested interest in catching the Copy-Cat Archer.

Perhaps, he should give the man a chance to prove his worth. Perhaps, one day, he would help the city as his two daughters do.

He grabbed the phone and left the precinct.

* * *

Laurel walked through the metal detector, and she picked up her wallet and I.D., before walking towards the ostentatiously dressed attorney with a smug smile.

"We meet again Miss Lance. He then pulled out a piece of paper. "Before I let you speak to my client, you must sign an affidavit agreeing to the stipulations that are written in the document."

"Of course." She said monotonously.

She then read over the document. She wasn't to come into any direct contact with Brickwell. She wasn't to discuss any conversations they had, with anyone in the media, government entities, law enforcement, or any outside party of any kind.

The smart bastard had cut her off at her knees. He knew he had information that she needed, and knew that she would agree to his terms.

The failure to meet any and all stipulations would cause her to pay a rather large fine and she may be forced to face an ethics board, if not disbarment.

She sighed her initials to the document.

"You will refer to Mr Brickwell, as  _only_  Mr. has also been informed that all of your questions must be approved by myself before he can answer them.

She then walked into the room, to see Brickwell wearing his prison attire, and chained to the cold steel table, like the rabid dog he was.

As she sat down, she saw Brick's lawyer put his phone on the table with an alarm for ten minutes.

"We never had the chance to meet, only when you crossed examined me."

Whatever tangent he planned to go off on was cut off by her. "I'm here, why did you call me?"

"You believed that you dismantled my organisation, and that was true. However, I was under the impression, an… associate of yours had taken care of a belligerent co-conspirator of mine. What the media likes to call; The Dark Archer, or the Ninja-Archer."

"What about him? Why contact me and not the SCDP?"

"The media claims it was your personal crusade as an attorney to rip out corruption root and stem. The irony that others are doing it more effectively than you."

She tapped her fingers on the cold steel. As he continued. "I understand, that wish to find answers, that Starling City is barely coping with three archers and corruption. But I have none."

She slammed her hand on the table. "That's bullshit!"

"I have what I wanted. I don't know what you expected when you accepted my invitation but we are finished here." Brick dismissed her, with an air of arrogance.

He only invited her here to gloat. To see her begging him for questions, to re-establish a power hierarchy, in which he was the apex. She was sick of these games. Her city is bleeding, and she has no tangible thread to pull on. The Ninja-Archer was a ghost.

The Hood was no better, he would appear and disappear at his own whims, and was too busy scaring the living hell out of one-percenters. Not that he seemed to care about her and Speedy, nor toeing the line that they had set.

She was done playing games with people. She was done being passive. And Brickwell was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"Sammy." She said, quietly so only he could just hear.

If he wanted to play games, she would play ball. She was done with people playing games with her. The Hood, The Ninja-Archer and now Brickwell, again. It was time for Dinah Laurel Lance to step up, without hiding behind Black Canary.

"Nice, sweet boy. Must have inherited it from his late mother" She looked up from the table, to see a seething Brick. "I checked up on him a few weeks ago. He misses  _his Daddy_." She emphasised the last words in an attempt to rattle him.

Brick's eyes never left hers, as he commanded his attorney to leave them.

Laurel continued after Winterain had left the room. "So, you better listen carefully. I will use every loophole, footnote, favour, I can muster, to ensure that Samuel Brickwell will never be seen again. His name will be changed, and sent to a new corner of The States every so often, who knows he may even be adopted and sent across the globe." She then added a sarcastic whisper. "Daddy will never see, Little Sammy."

Brick scowled, as he moved his hands under the table. As she continued. "You see, unlike your other adversaries,  _Mr Brickwell._  I can break you down, without breaking a single law. You may have fancy rich lawyers, but with one envelope, and a six-dollar postage stamp, I can ensure that your Sammy will never see you again. One letter. One letter to the right office and Samuel Brickwell ceases to exist. With your violent tendencies and criminal record, I can prove you are an unfit to parent a child. An influence that may and will corrupt him. You are a physical danger to him because you are unhinged."

She then smirked. "And now, I'm sure you're thinking about quietly serving your time, and pick up Sammy, and visit Big Ben, The Eiffel tower, The Pyramids of Giza, or perhaps, The Great Wall of China. But guess what? You will never get full custody, but you can visit him. But Starling is your jungle, just like it is mine."

Brickwell's eye twitched in anger, so she pushed a little further. If she got him angry, he may spill something about The Ninja-Archer unintentionally. "You keep screwing me around, even just an ounce, and  _bye, bye Sammy_." She said with a little mock wave of her hand, and a small smug smile.

Brick grunted, as he unclasped his cuffs, and gripped her by her collar, and slammed her face repeatedly into the steel table, making her nose and lip bloody.

"Say his name again! Go Ahead!" He ordered.

She attempted to dislodge his grip on her, with an uppercut to his chin, but she only managed to give him a bloody lip.

"Ahh…yes! The eldest daughter of a cop." He gloated.

Her eyes darted around to see an absence of guards. She then recalled when she was with Declan, and Brick had his wing secured by guards, who seemed to respect him.

"You're running this place?" She wheezed.

"You ask tiny questions, Miss Lance."

She panted, feeling the stinging of her nose and lip, and the coppery taste on her tongue. "You are regaining influence. You own these people."

"Ask anyone and they will deny it. They would all rather slit their throats than talk." She was then violently shaken by the large man. "When I finally get out of this cage, I will dismantle the lives of the two girls who put me in here!" He smiled darkly. "You, Miss Lance, and Thea Dearden Queen."

He then chuckled. "Unless Tempest and their resilient enforcer get to you two first. Quite hard to keep him down, I hear. Even after you burned him alive in the warehouse that houses his plans for something called The Undertaking."

She shook her head, feeling dizzy from the hard hits to her face. "No, I put you here, not Queen."

She would willingly carry that cross if it meant that Thea was safe. It was her job as her big sister to ensure that their escapades didn't affect Thea.

Brick chuckled loudly, though his eye held no mirth, he was still glaring his icy eyes at her. "No. You both shared the glory and honour; you'll both reap what you have sown. And know this, I will spend every cent and time that I have! And it will be worth more than a measly six-dollar stamp!"

He then violently, and forcefully shoved her into her seat, and calmly and measuredly sat back down and readjusted his cuffs back to his wrists. "Time is all I have now, Miss Lance. And When I'm ready, I will strike like the snake, unseen and deadly."

The lawyer walked in and attempted to show her some faux-chivalry by offering a hand to help her walk. She shoved his arm away and stormed out, ignoring her aching muscles. She would not give Brick and his sycophants the luxury of seeing her lick her wounds.

But in getting Brick pissed off, she had information on Al Sah her. He worked for an organisation named  _Tempest_ , and something called The Undertaking. From what she could infer, Tempest was a powerful and influential clandestine group.

They were likely who  _Robin Hood_ has been hunting. She now had a lead. A thread. She had to find The Hood. And he was going to share his resources and information with her.


	15. Christmas Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I postponed the release of this chapter last week, to polish it considering what occurs in the chapter. Not sure if I'm completely happy with it, but if I didn't release it, it would be stuck in editing forever.

After they had taken a family photograph, Oliver watched as his sister returned to her boyfriend's side, and walk outside to get some fresh air. He smiled, as he looked around and saw Laurel talking to Tommy, he walked over to greet them, it had been a long time since he had spoken to Tommy.

"Merry Christmas."

They both repeated the greeting, as Oliver looked at Laurel, her lip was slightly swollen, and her nose bruised.

"What happened?"

She looked at him and shrugged. "Nothing…"

He knew she was lying. Even if he couldn't see the swelling and bruises, he could always see when she was lying. "What happened?" He asked with a firmer voice.

Tommy chuckled, which caused Laurel to glare at him. "What? If Thea and I can't convince you that your instructor is abusive as hell, Ollie will."

 _Her instructor_. His jaw clenched, was this who gave  _his_  Laurel, those scars, to make her a soldier? A plaything? As if she were some useless slab of meat to carve up? He could hear his blood pumping in his ears at the thought of Laurel being abused and tortured.

He gently grabbed her by the elbow and led her to a small alcove, away from prying eyes and ears. As they made it to the small nook, he let go of her arm, and slip his hand into hers, as he looked into her gorgeous green eyes. "Laurel. Is that who gave you yours… scars?"

She shook her head. "I wasn't lying to you when I said that that's the way I acquired my scars was different from you. I wasn't tortured."

"You said his name was Ted. Ted, who?" He asked, not taking his eyes off her. He wouldn't allow Laurel's pride and stubbornness let this  _Ted_  abuse  _his_ home.  _His Laurel._

She sighed, audibly. "Ted never abused his power over me. Underneath his rough and ready exterior, he's a pussycat. Thea also met him. She's fine, I'm fine. Just let it go."

"I… Care for you, Laurel. I don't want you to endure any more pain. Let me help you, please?"

She bit her lip and winced. "I appreciate the concern, Ollie. But you never let me help you when I see you limping or bruised. We barely talk, and when I make the effort you openly avoid me."

"I don't want to hurt you." He said looking down at the ground. "I'm sorry."

She cupped his jaw, with her hand, gently forcing him to meet her gorgeous green eyes. "I'm a big girl, Ollie. If you want to…  _care_  for me, it's a two-way street. All or none at all."

"I'm trying." He said, weakly. He then pulled out a small box for her. "Merry Christmas, Laurel." He then gave her a small kiss on her cheek, followed by an another at the corner of her mouth, a promise that he was trying.

Laurel smiled, and pulled back slightly and opened his gift, to reveal a small photo frame, with the two of them and their siblings. It was their summer vacation the year before he had left on the gambit. Before everything went sideways.

She put it gently on the table and jumped into his embrace. "Thank you." She whispered and gave him a peck on the cheek.

He wrapped his arms around her, and for the first time, it felt like they were actually on the same page. Their warm embrace was ruined by a man standing behind Ollie, who cleared his throat. The pair turned around to see Diggle standing there.

"Sorry to interrupt. Oliver, need a word."

Oliver looked back at her with sad, apologetic eyes. "Raincheck?"

She exhaled and nodded. "Okay."

He was then directed to the den, by Diggle, after Oliver gave Laurel his heartfelt goodbye, and a Merry Christmas, he then followed his friend into the room, to watch the TV.

Oliver watched with bated breath as he saw a woman bound to a chair, and forced to read a script.

" _Merry Christmas Starling City, for the last year the city has been laid to siege by vigilantes, Black Canary, Speedy and now The Hood. But the SCPD have been content in leaving the man to run amok"_ She then whimpered reading the next few words.  _"I will kill a hostage every hour until The Hood surrenders himself."_

Oliver's jaw clenched. And Diggle shook his head. "Man, the SCPD are everywhere around the location."

"My actions led them to be taken hostage, it's my responsibility."

* * *

Lance walked up to the bastard commissioner, who had goaded him to make a plan to save the hostages, thinking that he was helpless. But he knew that his daughters were after this guy, and even if he fretted about their safety, he knew that this was her battle, as much as The Hood's and The Hood seemed to be missing. The deadline was approaching.

Lance sighed, as he left the command tent, and walked several yards away from the SCPD, and any prying ears. And rang his daughter's burner phone.

" _Hello?"_

"Baby. There are hostages, and The Hood doesn't seem to be coming. It's the Ninja-Archer."

He heard his breath hitch, as he heard him talking to Thea. "We will be there in about ten minutes."

* * *

The Hood aimed his bow, and zip-lined himself over the SCPD, and into the old factory. He broke in through the old windows landing next to the hostages, cutting their bindings, as he questioned their location.

They didn't know. They were too afraid and wanted to get back home to their families. He understood that he once felt the same.

He directed them to the roof, as he went looking for the Dark Archer. Oliver knew he was being watched from the shadows, as he combed the old abandoned factory. As he slowly cased the winding corridors, he eventually saw the man in black, aiming his bow at him from down the corridor. As he walked into the next room, he saw the wraith in black aiming his bow at him from down the corridor.

"Thank you for coming. Honestly, this feels like Déjà vu for me." The Dark Archer said, speaking through a voice modulator.

The Hood had his bow at the ready. "I'm here. What do you want?"

"To see who's the better archer. And more importantly, remove a major hindrance for the organization I work for."

Each party shot arrows with immense speed and accuracy at each other that were either deflected as they hit or dodged altogether. Oliver was stunned, he had never fought someone with as much skill, if not more with a bow. Eventually, The Hood realized that to beat him, he would have to use guerrilla tactics.

Slade had constantly reiterated that it was always preferable to fight in your chosen terrain, or tactics in order to gain the advantage.

The Hood ran out into the warehouse-proper and hid in the rafters.

The Dark Archer entered slowly, bow drawn, and so quietly that he had to strain his ears to even have a minuscule chance to hear his footsteps as the Dark Archer started to clear the room. The archer halted, as he examined a shard of broken glass.

The Hood realized that the man had seen his reflection.

The Hood silently drew his drawstring, as he took aim at his foe from above. With almost unnatural speed, The Dark Archer shot The Hood's bow, effectively disarming him.

Oliver tried to maneuver to a more ideal vantage point and then retrieve his bow, as he moved, Oliver felt the tell-tale burn of an arrow in his thigh. He grunted through the familiar pain and felt his movements become more sluggish due to the location of the wound.

Oliver spotted his bow, and dove for it, ignoring his leg's dismay at the movement, retrieved his bow, and managed to let loose several arrows at the Dark Archer, none hit him. He swore under his breath.

The way the archer dodged the attacks, was almost like second nature to him. Oliver looked around at the now silent, seemingly empty room. He wiped the stinging sweat from his forehead that was dripping to down to his eyes.

As Oliver continued to look around for his hidden foe, white-hot pain across Oliver's back as three arrows pierce through his suit and impede themselves into his muscles, perhaps deeper.

The Hood braced himself on the timber for support, only to have him kicked through it. The Hood painfully managed to get up, only to be immediately kicked back down, and through the next set of wooden walls.

The Dark Archer grabbed his arm and dislocated it. "First Hunt, then Ravish! You're next. Black Canary will follow soon after!"

Oliver nearly passed out from the trauma and blood loss he was experiencing but even then, he refused to give up. Slade had always told him he was too stubborn to die, even Yao Fei had been impressed by his resilience.

He then proceeded to kick The Hood while he was down and struggling to breathe. "I know about the list. And the man who wrote it wants you dead!"

"They call you The Hood. Let's see what you look like beneath."

As the man stood over him, Oliver stabbed the man with a flechette in the thigh, he heard another bow being drawn and loosed. " _Canary's_  Speedy _."_

He watched as Speedy ran at the man, after the arrows impaled themselves into the archer's back, followed by a pair of bolas, wrapping around his legs.

The Birds quickly moved to The Hood, who was groaning in pain, and barely conscious. Speedy and Black Canary knelt down next to him, checking his pulse and checking his numerous wounds on his back, where Al-Saher had shot him with the black arrows.

Speedy sighed, she may never have liked The Hood, but never wished this on him, especially when she had seen what The Ninja-Archer had done to her sister the year before. Thea found no signs of mass blood loss.

Speedy looked to her sister, "Thea looked up at Laurel. "His breathing is labored; his pulse is very weak." Speedy continued her assessment looking over his back while resisting a chance to lower his hood. Now was not the time, she reminded herself. "Looks like Robin Hood has a collapsed lung, judging by his breathing. It's not good, Sis." Thea noticed that Canary looked ashen, as she tenderly touched the Hood's cheek

As The Birds started to lift The Hood to his feet, carrying his weight between their shoulder's when all of a sudden two arrows narrowly missed Black Canary's head.

"Get down." Both Speedy and Canary dragged the Hood with them and hid behind what was left a nearby wall. The green archer moaned as he was lowered to the hard-concrete floor. She mumbled her apologies before poking her head out to see Al-Saher standing across the room from them, his bow hand lazily in his hand, and no longer bound by the bolas, nor in any semblance of pain from the arrows she shot into him.

"I wasn't finished with him." The Dark Archer growled through his modulated voice.

Black Canary stood up and moved out of cover. She silently looked back at Speedy, who was conflicted between saving the life of the man that almost killed her sister and fighting alongside her with another man, who almost killed her bloody.

"Go, Speedy! Take him to Frostie, only Frostie."

Speedy nodded, and haphazardly hauled the much larger man out, before turning. "What about you?"

"I'm good." She then turned back to Al-Saher.

Speedy wasn't so sure. She knew Laurel was more protected from missile weapons and blades than she was when she was The Woman in Black, but this Ninja-Archer guy was something else. Despite her reluctance to leave her sister, who was buying them time to escape, She half carried The Hood to out of the main warehouse, and walked down to the corridors, and found a back exit that wasn't guarded by the cops, and fled with a man that she wanted to hand over to Quintin.

* * *

Black Canary reared back from Al-Saher's hurricane kick but failed to escape the kick entirely, which hit her in the jaw.

She stumbled back against a steel column, shaking her head from the dizziness caused by the force of the hard kick.

As Al-Saher went to grab her by the throat, she used her left forearm to block the grab, and swiftly sent several jabs to wear his face was hidden behind the mask. As she went to follow up with a spin kick, The Tempest enforcer grabbed her leg and twisted causing her to cry out in pain.

He followed that by sending a myriad of jabs and strikes to her chest, she collapsed to the ground, as she coughed, struggling to get air into her lungs. As she coughed and spluttered, he sent a hard kick to her head, that caused her ears to ring.

She spat out some blood, and slowly, and with great effort stood to her feet. As she did, she saw the Ninja-Archer brandish his bow, and promptly aimed at her. "You still have scars to remember me by, I hope." With that, he shot an arrow that narrowly missed her, as she darted away from the missile's path.

Canary went on the offensive unleashing moves that she never thought she would against another person. For a brief moment, Al-Saher was pushed back taken by surprise by her furious assault but slowly the tide began to turn in his favor, as he blocked her punches and kicks. He retaliated her blows with his own brutal combo which forced with Canary's twisted ankle to flare, which caused her to lose her balance and fall against the debris that The Hood had fallen through earlier.

She looked up, as she rolled out of the fetal position, to see herself being aimed at once again by the Dark Archer. The masked man's build was illuminated by the overhead lights.

"Wait…" She gasped. "You're dead, how?"

"There is no such thing," Al-Saher said, as he released his drawstring, sending the arrow towards her.

Without thinking, she shielded her eyes and released her Canary Cry. Followed by the destruction caused by her enhanced biology. She moved her hands from her face and looked around to see debris everywhere, and no archer insight.

She spat out some of the coppery fluid from her mouth, followed by taking deep breaths, and hobbled away, following the direction that her sister had escaped through while tending to The Hood.

* * *

Laurel stumbled into the gym, as soon as she limped through the door, she saw Thea, still wearing her suit, though with her hood lowered, sat her on a bench next to the ring, where The Hood was laying on, passed out. Laurel noticed Thea had done some emergency triage by setting an IV into the Hood's arm.

As soon as Thea saw Laurel, she ran to her and taking care of her injuries, gave her a warm hug. A welcomed gesture.

"I thought I lost you sis!' Laurel returned the hug.

Laurel gave a small relieved smile. "I told you I keep my promises."

Thea helped Laurel to where the first aid supplies were. "Let's get you treated and then we can start working on Mr. Hoody."

Speedy sutured the cut above Laurel's brow, before checking her bruises.

"How is he?" Laurel asked while looking over her sister towards The Emerald Archer. She never thought she would see him in this condition and at their mercy, no less, though Laurel was sure, Thea had dreamed about this moment quite often. It was very surreal, to say the least

Thea shrugged slightly, still coming off the adrenaline rush herself. "He is stable for now. I hooked up a saline solution and administered pain killers to keep him knocked out. I also stemmed some of the blood loss. I was waiting for you since you know more about triage then me."

That made sense to Laurel. "Speedy, why didn't you take off his hood? You have been dying for months to know after all?"

Thea just shook her head, her eye's slightly glassy "I was nervous and wanted you here in case he tried something…" Laurel had a hunch Thea knew something about the Hood but was afraid of actually knowing.

Afterwards, Laurel grabbed the first aid box and moved towards the unconscious man in green. With Thea's help, the pair of them removed the arrows and popped his dislocated shoulder back into place, but in doing so, they had to remove his jacket.

It revealed scars and tattoos that both of them recognized.

Time came to a grinding halt.

Thea let out a small yelp, as Laurel squeezed her eyes shut. Even without removing The Hood they knew who he was. They had been holding onto a slither of hope that they were wrong.

"Ollie?" Thea whispered. Thinking about all that he had done, and how she had fought her own brother. She had shot her own brother. She wanted her brother to be incarcerated for life. Thea felt sick, she was a terrible sister, what kind of sister would do that to her own brother?

Laurel rubbed her back gently. "I will apply triage, you call Caitlin. Tell her we have a person down, and they can't go to the hospital. She should still be in Starling, preparing something for STAR LABS."

Thea nodded numbly, as she pulled out her phone, and walked away from Oliver, but kept her eyes on him.

Laurel looked down at Oliver with sadness but pride in her eyes. "I always knew it was you Ollie, but I refused to let myself believe. You have been so alone and suffered so much, but I am here now and will take care of you." She murmured, as She kissed his forehead and kept vigil beside him.

* * *

Caitlin had arrived, dressed as if she had just arrived from a date. She scowled, as she put on a pair of white latex gloves and gave the man wearing Laurel's mask an injection to keep him asleep and relaxed as she prepared to set his broken ribs, and suture the arrow wounds.

She looked up as she finished, stitching the man back up. "I had to leave my fiancé at the restaurant. You two owe me a reservation at a fancy restaurant." She sighed, as she tore the latex gloves off her hands.

Thea nodded, with a grateful look in her eyes. "I can wrangle a reservation for two at  _Verde e Nero._ It was the restaurant that Laurel and my brother used to frequently dine at." She then walked out of the gym to call the restaurant.

After Thea left, Caitlin turned to look at Laurel and started to check that she didn't have any underlying conditions from the fight. "Do you have a life outside of this?" She asked, waving her arms around the room. The meaning was clear, a life outside of vigilantism."

"I'm a Lawyer." She answered. It was too difficult and messy to explain to Caitlin that the man she wanted to spend her life with, was the archer on the boxing ring floor. Oliver was The Hood, a man that killed people and had almost killed her.

She knew deep down that he was The Hood, even after some of the evidence said otherwise. It was all too convenient.

Caitlin gave her a sad smile, as she removed Laurel's suit that covered her torso, and pressed against the ribs that elicited a gasp of pain. "You need to live in the world that you are protecting."

She then wrapped her sides with cling wrap and instructing her to keep ice on it. They both knew it wasn't a perfect solution, but it was the best that they had under the circumstances.

Caitlin then took the piece of paper with her new reservation from Thea and left the gym.

As Thea watched Oliver sleep off his surgery, she looked back up to her sister. "Can I ask you a question, Laurel?"

Laurel slowly turned her head from Oliver to her, feeling slightly woozy. "What's up?" She asked with a hitched breath.

"I don't want you to get mad or anything, but I have been training someone." She bit her cheek anxiously and looked at her sister, who had a knowing look.

"I know. Think I wouldn't realize you going into The Gym with Harper?"

Thea blinked. "You knew?" She asked as she put a large black Wildcat jacket around her sister's shoulders.

"I found it sweet, and amusing that you had him wait at the door, and you answered wearing your suit."

Thea blushed. "That's why I need to ask, he is constantly talking about Speedy to me, he has a crush on her while dating me."

"Then tell him. If you trust him. Tell him."

Thea gestured her head towards her brother. "Then why haven't you told him, or vice versa?"

"I never claimed that Ollie and I are the epitome of a healthy relationship. Looking back, Communication is something that we had never mastered, and it's something that we will hopefully begin to work on." She said while clutching her ribs with her hand.

Thea looked at her brother again and quipped. "I guess being vigilantes definitely runs in the family." causing Laurel to laugh.

"That is so apparent with you Queens and myself included." It was a light-hearted moment, but the questions would start once Oliver woke up and that something Laurel would have to prepare for. No more secrets.

* * *

Oliver opened his eyes, to see a dingy old gym, that smelled of a mixture of chemicals, dust, blood and stale sweat. He slightly moved his head to see a brunette in red leather talking softly to a blonde in black. Where was he?

The Birds had saved him from bleeding out. The opposite of what he had done to the blonde across from him, months ago. It wasn't something he deserved, and they saved him anyway.

He coughed, as both women turned. He had to blink his eyes several times surprised to see the Birds without their masks. As he looked closer Oliver saw Black Canary had Laurel's face, and Speedy had well… Speedy's face. His best friend, and his sister.

"Laurel? Thea?" He rasped out, his mouth feeling parched. He must have suffered a head injury seeing the two women that meant the most to him in the world, dressed up as The Birds of Prey.

Both women sat near him. "It's alright Ollie. You're safe."

"How?" He asked as he kept blinking, trying in vain to actually see their real faces and not Laurel and Thea.

"We were alerted to the situation with your buddy in black, and Laurel kinda has a beef with the Ninja-Archer," Thea explained.

He shook his head. "No… Black Canary… Speedy, how?" It didn't make sense. Did it? Digg had his guessed it was Laurel. He, even if he loathed to admit it, new the truth. But he forced himself to not believe it. Giving himself a false narrative as to why Laurel and Thea couldn't have been Black Canary or Speedy respectively. That the two most important women in his life were normal and not involved in his dark world and he could always protect them. Now everything had been torn asunder.

Laurel brushed her hand through his hair, and he instinctively moved his head towards her gentle ministrations. "After The Gambit went down, I was offered training. It helped me rebuild myself into a stronger person."

Oliver nodded. "Your scars?" He asked with a raspy voice.

"Some from lucky thugs with knives, the large one from the Ninja-Archer, as well as one in the right shoulder, and in my left…"

"From me…" He finished for her, as a tear escaped his eye. "I'm so sorry, Laurel… I left you for dead."

At that moment, Oliver hated himself more than when he had been forced to kill Slade.

She cupped his jaw and rubbed her thumb over his facial hair. "We didn't know who was beneath the hood, and you didn't know who was behind my mask. It's water under the bridge. I don't blame you, Ollie." They would have to discuss his methods later, now wasn't the time for that.

Oliver nodded, as he saw his sister smiling at them. "In hindsight, I should have known you were Speedy?"

"Where Laurel goes, I follow. Pretty much how I always followed you Ollie once upon a time."

He then looked back to Laurel. He now knew why she was able to easily avoid death at the hands of the prisoner, and why she often seemed to have a limp, or have a bruised face. All the pieces fit together but he had to admit; Laurel was good at protecting her secret identity. She clearly had more experience in this area than him.

"Your scream?" Her Banshee wail, was the one thing that solidified his lie to himself, that Laurel could never have been this Canary of Starling City. He knew she couldn't have been born with this power of that he was sure of.

Laurel's lips slightly upturned, and immediately winced. He noted that she had sustained injuries thanks to the Dark Archer. Because she was protecting him. Something that he should have done for her. "The prevailing theory is that it is some kind of natural mutation, that awoke when I was under immense stress. "Oliver found this fascinating and wanted to hear more about her powers but now was not the time.

He just shook his head and smiled. "All this time I thought I was not good enough for you and wanting to protect you and it turns out we have more common than I ever thought possible."

Laurel returned his smile. "What have I always told you, Ollie. Life is full of surprises."

"Where do we go from here?" He found himself asking, his mind still reeling about who his situational allies really were.

Laurel and Thea exchanged looks before Thea spoke. "We are going to start pooling all our resources into finding The Ninja-Archer. You can either be a part of that, or you forget who we are. I will just be your kid sister, and Laurel your kinda-but-not-really-ex-girlfriend."

Oliver chuckled, and said "yeah not is this lifetime," as Laurel playfully slapped her arm.

Laurel looked at Oliver, and her face lost its mirth, but not her sincerity. "Give it time. You know how to contact us, if don't hear from you though, we will assume that you have decided not to join us. And this never happened."

Oliver nodded, as they helped him up. He did know that he could never go back. Everything was different now.

' _A shark that does not swim drowns.'_

"Where are we?" He asked looking around the gym.

"A gym, that no one uses," Thea answered.

Oliver nodded. He recalled about Laurel's friend who trained her. Someone named Ted. A man that mentored her and Speedy to become vigilantes. Heroes. As proud as he was, and glad that he and Laurel knew the truth of what he, and she did of a night, he could help but feel bereft, and slightly angry that they would put themselves in harm's way. Though, Oliver felt like a hypocrite thinking that as Laurel and Thea could make the same argument about him.

* * *

Walter entered the elevator of Queen Consolidated, as the lift door closes, he felt a prick in his neck and passed out.

* * *

Oliver made his way into The Bunker to see a rattled Digg pacing. "Hey."

Diggle frowned. "Hey? You've been gone for hours after fight Dark Archer and all you can say is hey!?"

Oliver groaned. "I survived, by the skin of my teeth, The Birds saved me."

Diggle quirked his brow and whistled. "You don't seem to happy about that?"

Oliver shook his head. "You were right when you questioned Laurel's activities. She's the Canary of Starling City."

"I told you there was more to Laurel then meets the eye."

Diggle laughed out loud. "Damn you Queens sure do things in pairs." He sobered a bit, at Oliver's lack of humor. "How does that make you feel?" Diggle asked, as he leaned on the table, and crossed his arms.

How did that make him feel? Betrayed, pissed off that Laurel would allow his sister to be roped into that life. Anger and betrayal that Laurel didn't confide in him, they could have been partners. But that wasn't exactly fair, he wasn't exactly an open book either. And wasn't looking to be her friend initially either. He had been ordered to kill the woman, he loved. And would have, if not for his baby sister.

"I don't know." He muttered.

If Digg had any issues with his answer, he didn't show it. "Did Laurel or Thea give you any indication of their plans, or what they know?"

Oliver shrugged. "Something about pooling their resources to hunt down the Dark Archer, or who they named him as The Ninja-Archer. Apparently, Laurel has had several run-ins with him." He then traced a line from his navel to his spine. "He cut her from naval to spine. He tried to disembowel her." Oliver found himself growling at the thought of coming home to find that Laurel had died hating him.

Why was she so damn reckless and stubborn?

"Sounds like she's hunting down the Dark Archer, and we share a common enemy, a common goal."

"You think we should help them?" Oliver asked, looking up from his footlocker.

Diggle nodded, with a small, but amused smirk "I do. They may have information that we don't. So far, we don't know much about the list."

Oliver stopped. Was it possible that Laurel knew about the list? If she did, why didn't she hunt down the people as he did? Perhaps, she didn't know about the list, but through her dealings with Brickwell, and the Dark Archer, she had stumbled unknowingly stumbled onto whatever the list meant.

 _Was she slowly dismantling them?_ He wondered. She took out Brickwell and has taken out gangs, and arms dealers. Was that Tempest's revenue, a part of their militia?

"He said that the author wanted me and Laurel dead. That means my father didn't write the list. And this archer is the author flexing his muscle."

"Does it change how you feel about  _her_?"

Oliver spun his head towards Diggle so fast. "What?"

"You heard me."

"I…"

"You both share the same profession; you can tell her the truth without worrying about divulging too much."

Oliver shook his head. "If anything, it has reinforced those feelings for her."

* * *

After several weeks, of hunting down information on both Walter and Al-Saher, and coming up with nothing, Thea groaned as they ate the apple cobbler, they were given in lieu of payment.

"You need to talk to him, Laurel," Thea said, with a mouthful of the dessert.

"Why me?" Laurel asked.

"Besides, you two sharing googly eyes, when you think others aren't looking?" Thea smirked, as Laurel rolled her eyes. "We need whatever Ollie has on Tempest. Highlander said that they were an Illuminati group, Brick says that they are powerful, powerful enough that he couldn't run a tight ship because Ninja-Archer was worried that you were out of control."

Thea continued, talking to her sister. "I get why we didn't pressure him about it, when we had him in the gym, especially after the reveal and what happened earlier that night, but… You and I both know that he has information on Tempest. If Al-Saher is targeting him before you, it means that he has something valuable." Thea and Oliver had managed to talk some more about their personal relationship but had avoided anything to do with the Birds, as Oliver was healing and needed to deal with his ongoing issues.

Laurel nodded, Your right Speedy. It's past time Oliver and I had a heart to heart talk" She grabbed her coat and left their office.

* * *

Oliver walked out from the basement and into verdant early the next morning to see Laurel sitting at the bar sipping a cup coffee.

He smiled as she slightly grimaced after her sip. Of course, it was Laurel who would order a coffee from a bar. She then began to nurse the mug in one hand and touched her split lip. He hated to see her hurt and had taken to watching the Birds when they went out of a night. Sometimes to see them in action. He had a new appreciation for what they had accomplished during his absence and the symbol of hope for the people of Starling City.

"Out of all the gin joints in all the towns in the world, she walks into mine." He said, as she carefully watched him adjust a few of the liquor bottles.

"This coffee is terrible, Ollie." She said with a slight grimace.

He chuckled at that. "What did you expect?" He asked jokingly. "This is a bar, not a café."

It was then, he noticed that beyond the obvious bruising she had received, she was also sporting dark rings around her eyes, from a lack of sleep. "You look tired, too much work?"

She lightly snorted. "That's what I tell people. But, perhaps for the first time in a long while, the person asking it doesn't assume it's legal work."

Oliver slightly nodded. He knew that this conversation was eventually going to come to a head, but didn't know when. Or to be honest, if he wanted to at all, because talking about it, with Laurel, meant it was real, that she was actually the Black Canary.

The woman he was ordered to kill, by Anatoly. He had unknowingly betrayed her.

"I know we haven't spoken about, really anything for the last couple of weeks." He stopped to try to find the words he was looking for. "For the longest time, all I really had was myself. Over the course of the year, I have recruited people to help me."

Laurel nodded, as he continued. "But the primary reason for doing so was because of  _you_ , and Thea."

At that Laurel quirked her brow. "Me and Speedy?" She asked the question slowly as if it was a joke.

Oliver smirked; she was too humble or naïve to consider her influence on him. "The night I went after Deadshot, you and Thea ambushed me. After I saw you reappear from what I thought was your death, I realized that there was a necessity to branch out a support system. I left you to die, and Thea saved you."

She gave a small smile that didn't reach her eyes. "It wasn't the first time that she had pulled me out of the fire. The night I first faced  _Al-Saher_ — The Ninja-Archer or The Dark Archer." She said at his questioning eyes at the foreign name. "He gave me that long scar, I made it back to my apartment… bruised and bloodied. On death's door. She must have heard me pass out and entered through my fire escape. She saved me."

"Just as you saved her, both as Black Canary and as yourself." He said with pride, at his little sister, and Laurel.

"Before I took down, Brick. Thea begged me to teach her. She was already neck-deep in the shit that we were wading through. If I didn't…"

Oliver gently took her mug away and held her hands, and gently rubbed her bruised, callused knuckles with his thumbs. "Thank you for protecting my sister. I always had a feeling she was destined for something greater and you helped prove it."

He didn't know if he would have done the same thing, but he knew that he, like Laurel, would do anything to protect Thea. And, in the circumstances they found themselves in, Laurel believed that it was the best solution. Giving Thea the skills necessary to defend herself, and others. And in doing so, Laurel had helped Thea grow as a responsible adult and into a hero. Dad would be proud of her.

In hindsight, he was glad that it was Laurel training her, and not some of the people that trained him. Laurel always put the best interest of others before herself.

" _Our_  sister." She corrected with a cheeky smile.

" _Our_  sister." He repeated as he gazed into her gorgeous green eyes. "Laurel, I…"

Just then Felicity barged through the door, not seeing the intimate moment Laurel and Oliver were sharing. "Oliver, I need to show… you…" She stuttered near the end. "I just walked in on a thing, didn't I?

Laurel looked at him questioningly and tensed slightly. "I didn't realize you had a  _guest_."

Oliver gave Felicity a non-verbal command to leave them, she reluctantly nodded and left for the basement. He then turned back to Laurel. "She not— she's one of the partners I told you about."

"Her and your bodyguard?" Laurel asked, already knowing the answer, she likely had guessed about Diggle after Christmas. "She doesn't seem like adequate field support, Ollie."

"That's because she's not. She runs our communications and our computers." Laurel nodded, and gave him a smile, saying that she was happy that he had a support system.

He cocked his head to the side. "And you only have Thea?"

She kind of gave half a shrug. "It's just me and Thea. But there are others who have helped. A bio-engineer. She is my go-to doctor when I have been badly injured. She knows my secret, as does my dad. And a friend of hers, he doesn't know our secret but has made out suits. And obviously Ted knows as well, he was my teacher, and a good friend."

He then looked at his watch, and sighed, he had business to conduct that couldn't wait. No matter how much he wanted to, he just wanted to listen to Laurel's voice forever. "Can we meet up tonight? Just you and me?" He asked.

She smiled, which made his heart flutter. "I'll see you tonight. And Ollie? I need to know something, are you willing to help us hunt down Al -Saher? And find and save Walter?

He nodded, feeling like everything in the world disappeared, but her and him, all because of her smile. "After our talk. We will pool our resources; do you want to meet at your base of operations or mine?"

Her brow furrowed. "Base? We don't… really have a base. I have a trunk in my office, that has our suits in it, along with our  _tools."_

"After our talk, I will introduce you both, to  _our_ new base. If you want to."

"That's a large step in trust, we—I wouldn't want to impose."

"Laurel, you and Thea are  _my_  family. And, you both saved me, even after I had left you for dead. It's a small token of my thanks. And even if you two want to work independently from me, you are still welcome to use the base. Just don't call it the Arrow cave." He added at the end. At Laurel's questioning look. Oliver said, "Don't ask."


	16. A New Team

Thea had taken Roy to Wildcat's gym to train, as she opened the door to let him in, she felt her heart race, she was taking a leap of faith, but she knew she could trust Roy. What had vexed her the most, was that Roy had a crush on Speedy. Was it normal to feel jealous over your own alter ego?

She moved to the side, as Roy dumped his small backpack on a bench. "What are we starting with?"

"This." Speedy exhaled audibly and removed her mask, and slowly lowered her hood.

Roy's mouth was agape. "Thea?"

She nodded silently. "Yep."

For a few long seconds, Roy didn't move or talk. "How?"

"You know how I work alongside Black Canary, how she had trained me after I found her on death's doorstep?"

Roy nodded, he remembered their talks, he often replayed them of a night before he went to sleep. "I remember, you said it was before she went after Brick before she finally got him."

"Right, well… You know my sister, Laurel. She's an attorney?"

He closed his eyes attempting to remember if she had a sister, he could only remember her having a brother, who had returned from being marooned on a deserted island for five years. "Sister?"

"Well, sister in all but name, and if I'm right, and let's face it, I always am." She said proudly. "She will soon be my sister-in-law."

"Dinah Laurel Lance is the Black Canary? A lawyer seriously?"

It was hard to imagine a lawyer going outside the law like that, and fighting something more than paper cuts or verbal spars. Let alone, the last living daughter of a police detective who was so high-strung about the sanctity about the law.

Thea quirked her brow, "She gets the people who slip through the cracks or manipulate the system to get off scot-free. She was trained by a former United States Marine, who is like a master at several different martial arts."

He then quickly pulled Thea over to him and kissed her passionately. "Where does that leave us?"

"On an equal footing." She said before she gave him a small kiss. "I'll train you until you're ready, then we can get you a nice red suit that can mirror mine."

He kissed her back and leaned his forehead against hers. "I would like that. Though I won't be your sidekick." Roy said playfully.

Thea responded cheekily, "We'll see."

* * *

Laurel was sitting on her couch, attempting to find any lead on Tempest, after an hour or so, she started to note down what she knew.

She recalled that night she almost died at the hands of Brick's thugs and Al-Saher, the map she remembered had highlighted blocks of land in the Glades, the rest of the words were in Arabic. She recalled the gangs not making a move, for fear of the clandestine organization.

So, she went to Brickwell, he had revealed, in his rage that he expected by now, she had been in the running for the top of their hit-list beneath  _The Hood_  or rather Oliver.

They must have been a powerful organization if Brick couldn't even control his own house. Who could have been powerful enough that not even Brickwell would cross? The one-percenters perhaps? That's who Oliver had been hunting down.

She heard a slight knock on her window. She grabbed her concealed pistol but put it back down, when she saw Oliver opening her window, looking sullen. "Ollie?"

He stood awkwardly on her fire escape. "Can I come in?" He asked he sounded so vulnerable.

"Yeah." She said as she held her hand to help him in. "Can I get you a coffee?"

He nodded numbly. She made the coffee and returned to the couch, and offered him a seat. "You ok?" She placed the mugs on the coffee table in front of them.

By now, he had removed his hood, so she could see the pain that bubbled beneath the surface of his eyes. It made her heartbreak, seeing him look so broken. "For the longest time, it was just me, you know?" He gave a small snort, though he seemed anything but amused. "There were people that I grew to trust, sure, but in the end… It was always me. And I… I don't want to be alone on that island anymore…"

She held him in her embrace. "You're not alone, Ollie. You have Diggle, that girl, what's her name? Thea, or your Mom…" He tensed at hearing about his mother.

"What about you?" He asked as he turned his head to look at her sitting next to him.

"What about me?"

"Do I have you any more? After all, I have done, lying, my infidelity, Allowing Sara on The Gambit, the way I treated you… I'm so sorry Laurel." He then wiped his eyes. "God, Laurel, I left you for dead."

She shook her head, as she cupped her hand on his cheek. "There's nothing to forgive because I have already forgiven you. Ollie, you have to start to forgive yourself. You're not that asshole you were before the island. But why did you try to kill me, and steal my wig?"

Oliver sighed and looked up at the ceiling as if it had the answers. "I wasn't always on the island. And the people I made friendships or alliances with were bad people, Laurel. Criminals. One of which was The Bratva." He then unzipped his suit to show her the black star. "This indicates that I'm Bratva. A captain at that. Despite what I have led them to believe, it's not a badge of honor, but a lead weight."

She studied the star, then looked at him. The puzzle of the; The Hood was starting to come together. She was right initially; he was aligned with The Bratva. It also explained why he spoke Russian before he shot her.

"I saved a man on the island from a terrible fate. His name is Anatoly. I eventually helped him rise to Pakhan, The Godfather of the Bratva, around the time of The Turf Wars. And there is one important rule in the organization. When someone hurts a brother, you kill them. I was ordered to kill the Black Canary. I would never have tried if I knew it was you." He said emphatically.

Laurel blinked away her tears and leaned against Oliver. "Do I have to still look over my shoulder, Ollie?"

"Never. I thought I killed you. I gave them your wig and later told them that the new Canary was a replacement. They accepted my word. I will never work for them again if I can help it." Laurel nodded at this relieved. She would have done almost anything to free Oliver of their grasp. He deserved better than being a hitman for scum.

After they sat there sipping their coffee, in peaceful silence, he spoke. "Malcolm. He has Walter, and my mother is in league with whatever he is planning."

Malcolm? His wife had dedicated her life to The Glades, wouldn't Malcolm want to honor her memory by picking up her torch?

"Do you think he is in league with Al -Saher?"

"It's more than likely. Felicity said that Walter was looking into the Gambit, and the list."

She swallowed. "In the warehouse, I was baited in, last year. Brick and he had city blueprints with blocks of land in the Glades signaled out. I couldn't read the Arabic script, but it was about The Glades. I also know that both Brick and the crime families are scared of his organization. Brick called the group Tempest."

Oliver nodded, with a clenched jaw. "I had Felicity..." He noticed Laurel's quirked brow. "The blonde I.T. Girl, who suffers from foot-in-mouth."

She smiled, which made him less sullen. "She said that Malcolm has Walter in Blüdhaven. I can go at it alone, but I would like if you joined me. Would you?"

Laurel smirked and nodded. "And Thea?"

"Call her. She deserves to know the truth. She's not the naïve girl she once was, you helped her grow into the self-reliant woman she is today. I think it's past time we become partners and a team." Laurel smiled at hearing that and knew something wonderful was taking shape.

Almost ten minutes later, Thea arrived. Oliver directed her to the seat. "Walter is alive."

Thea blinked and looked at Laurel for confirmation, she nodded, as Oliver continued. "I know that this will be hard to believe, but Mom is involved. She and Malcolm, are involved with what happened with Brick, The Gambit, Walter and whatever Tempest has planned for the Glades."

Thea was silent for a few moments before the pair saw the fire ignite in Thea's eyes. "Where's Walter?"

"Blüdhaven"

Thea nodded, as she stormed off into Laurel's office, like a force of nature, and returned throwing Laurel her suit, and gear. "Suit up. First, we rescue Walter, then we deal with Mom." As much as Thea did love her mother, she had betrayed their family and Starling City. She would ensure that her mother would receive justice for her crimes.

* * *

Black Canary and Speedy were lurking in the shadows awaiting Oliver's signal. Thea looked over at her sister and playfully scowled. "Why couldn't I be the one that flies in, and you two love birds distract and take out their back up?"

They heard Oliver chuckle over the comms. "I thought it was better to play to our strengths. You two are a formidable team in your own right. Fifty seconds until the drop."

Black Canary nodded, as she walked down a corridor to a doorway, and tapped the concrete wall beside her with her tonfa.

As the guard walked towards the mouth of the hall, Speedy grabbed him behind in a stranglehold and pulled him into a dark side room.

"Max?" Another guard asked as he walked towards them. "You are not sleeping on the job, again are you?"

A distorted female voice replied, sending a chill down his spine, "Yes and you will be joining him in a second." and before he could raise his gun Black Canary threw a bola at his knees and tackled him into another dark doorway, and knocked him out with a punch to the head.

The pair walked out from the shadows together as they walked down another hallway, to find two men with assault rifles.

Speedy shot one with an arrow and proceeded to disarm him and knock him out with a roundhouse kick. Black Canary threw her baton at the man's head, before kicking in his knees, and punching the man in the head before he was knocked out.

They walked down a hallway with about six or seven men knocked out. Speedy held her hand over her radio. "Did you ever take out a room full of guys, like this?"

Black Canary nodded. "Bratva. When I saved a little boy."

Speedy nodded as they found Oliver in the adjoining hallway in front of a reinforced metal door. Oliver looked at Black Canary and nodded, before he placed a small explosive charge by the metal lock, and directed his teammates to take cover. After they had taken cover, the small charge exploded and destroyed the lock, and leaving the door ajar.

Oliver opened the door, inside, was Walter sleeping on an old rickety coat, that squeaked as he breathed. "Mr. Steele?"

"Walter?" Speedy asked with her voice hidden behind a modulator, feeling uneasy at the inhuman treatment of her stepfather.

Walter startled, by their intrusion, rolled over to look at them. His gaunt showed his saviors that he was underfed, and his face unshaven. "What? What's happening?" He asked, looking between the three color-coated vigilantes.

"You're going home." Black Canary said as both Ollie and Thea were too perturbed by what they saw. She then with Ollie's help, assisted him to stand.

Walter gave them a genuinely grateful smile.

"Thank You, Miss Canary…"

"Speedy" Speedy answered Waler's unasked question.

"And he's The Arrow." Black Canary answered for Oliver, who gave her a surprising side glance, with a hint of a smile. She beamed back at him, "Thought you could use a name that was less ominous,  _Robin Hood."_

"Well, Thank you, Mr. Arrow," Walter spoke, as he struggled with his parched throat.

They make their way to the front door before leaving him, as the Blüdhaven police awaited him just outside. They had saved one innocent soul tonight. Together, as a team.

* * *

Oliver walked up from the hospital room that Walter was resting in, with Thea and his mother by Walter's side. Despite his mixed feelings for his mother, Walter deserved a glimmer of happiness, if not for what he has done for Thea, then his time as a hostage.

As he walked out, Malcolm called for him. Oliver clenched his jaw, before hiding his emotions and turned to a man he had once admired, Malcolm, was like another father figure, not unlike the grizzly and hot-tempered Detective Lance.

"It's a miracle that Walter is back in our lives, isn't it?"

If Oliver didn't know any better, he would have thought Malcolm was being sincere.

"How's Walter?" Malcolm asked. "The police said that he was rescued by the vigilante, but according to the police, he has been referred to as, by The Birds of Prey as The Arrow."

"Yeah, Walter said all three of them were there." He was pleasantly surprised at the new name Laurel had given him. It was a sign of respect, between them. It made him realize, just how much he loved her.

"Has your stepfather said anything about his ordeal? Any identifications on his captors?" Oliver shook his head. "That's too bad," Malcolm said, with fake sympathy.

"I'm sure that they will find that they cannot run from justice. One way or another, they will get what's coming to them." He then gulped down his emotions, Malcolm was the enemy, and he couldn't allow him to find out his secret, nor Thea's or Laurel's. "I'm just glad that my family is safe, and back together."

Before Malcolm could speak. They both turned to see Laurel who called out to him. Oliver looked back at Malcolm, and excused himself, and walked towards Laurel.

As he walked towards Laurel, he opened his arms, and held her in his warm embrace, before kissing her. In an attempt to show how much, he loved her, and how much he needed her in his life. For so long, they both had been walking down a similar path, to end up back in their city, as vigilantes.

As Oliver held her in his arms, the smell of her perfume reminded him that he was home. Being alone for the better part of the five years, he forgot many things of things he loved, the taste of his favorite Pizza from Mario's, the taste of Rocky Road ice cream but one thing that had never left him, was the smell of her perfume. Every time he looked at her photograph, or remembered a joke she told, or one of their conversations, he smelled the sweet smell of her perfume.

He was home.  _She_  was his home.

She pulled back slightly but didn't move out of the embrace. "Ollie?"

He held her tighter. "I love you." Her heart quickened at his words, and his unbroken gaze to her eyes.

Almost immediately, he felt her arms wrap around him. "Me too."

After several minutes, she pulled back and held his hand as they sat down on a couple of chairs outside Walter's room. "How's Walter?"

"He's resting. Thea and Mom are in with him." If she had an issue with Moira being in the room with Walter, she didn't say it." At that moment, he was glad that she had chosen to put his comfort, and that of Speedy's over her desire to protect the city, and take Malcolm down, and to dismantle Tempest.

It was just him and her. Always and forever.

* * *

A man in his mid-fifties wearing a black long overcoat strolled through the seedy dark streets of The Glades. He walked past an alley, he heard a couple of thugs ruffing up a young man, demanding for his wallet, lest they open his belly across the ground.

Ted slumped over slightly and feigning inebriation, whistled as if he were calling out for a dog. "Renée?" He called out as he stumbled into the alley to be stopped one of the three thugs.

"Can I help you, buddy?"

Ted chuckled and slurred his words as he spoke. "My...My dog ran off in this direction. The Misses wants her back you know?" He then looked past the guard to see the small, scrawny man being held at knifepoint behind a dumpster, the mugger was holding the knife to the man's throat and covering the man's mouth so he couldn't call for help.

The guard gave Ted a slight shove to the chest, "We haven't seen no dog here, Bud."

Ted stuttered as he pointed backwards, and waved his finger at the man. "She… I'm sure that she ran this way."

Behind them, the dumpster rolled slightly hitting the brick wall. Ted took the man's momentary distraction and headbutted him in the face, as soon as he turned back to him, and shoved him hard into the wall beside them.

Ted shook his head and looked at both the mugger and the kid. "You're alright, kid?"

Before the kid could speak, the thug rushed Ted with the blade. The older man slides to the side, grabbing his wrist and slamming it into the wall with enough force to make his opponent drop the knife.

"Argh!"

Ted delivered a left cross to the man's jaw, knocking him out cold.

The man pulled out his wallet, "Thank you so much, I don't have much…"

Ted raised his hand, "No. Keep your money, I'm just a good Samaritan." With that, Ted walked back, stepping over the two unconscious hoodlums, walking out of the alley, and walking towards his gym. He eventually walked to the door, that had a snarling black panther logo on the window. He reached above the door, and retrieved an old key, before entering.

He watched, as in the dim light, Dinah with her hair up in a ponytail shadowboxed. "Don't forget to keep your hands in the guard position."

Laurel stopped, as she turned to see him. Her green eyes widened, as she walked swiftly towards him and enveloping him in a hug. "Ted, it's so good to see you." She said as she pecked his cheek.

"Me too, kiddo."

Laurel pulled back, a smile gracing her face. "Not that I'm not glad to see you, Ted, but what are you doing here? You don't have a fight in Starling anytime soon."

"Do I need a reason to check up on you?" He asked as he sat on the steel bench. "I've heard a lot of stories about The Birds of Prey. Fighting Ninja-Archer again, the green archer as well. Not to mention Casanova returning."

Laurel's smile faded. As much as he cared and was protective of her in the field, he had trusted her to be able to fight her own battles. "Ollie has been home for months."

Ted's lips thinned. "I know. Been busy, unfortunately, providing the CCPD with hand to hand fighting classes. The commissioner apparently was not happy with their level of training, and who better to train them, then Central City's Southpaw?"

Laurel was proud of the man in front of her. He had managed to both train cops, and provide a sanctuary for both wayward, and lost individuals and cops. On top of that, he used to be a vigilante, a man that was seen as an issue for both sides of the fence.

"Ollie doesn't need to be roughed up or intimidated. He's not the same person, he before he was marooned." She said, thinking about how much Ollie had changed, him being The Hood, and the torture he had endured.

Ted shook his head. "Dinah, you too forgiving, always have been. Usually, I would call it a gift, but don't roll over just because he seems to have changed. It will hurt you again in the long run. Just a piece of advice from an old man, that has been through the wringer more than a few times."


	17. Guilty

The next day, Oliver waited outside Verdant for Laurel and his sister. Eventually, Laurel's car pulled up, and both women walked out.

"Hey, Pretty Bird," Oliver said, as he kissed Laurel.

"Hey, Ollie" She repeated, returning his kiss.

Thea walked past the pair, "As happy as I am that you two reconciled, Laurel kept me in the dark, about what we are doing here?" She asked looking at the exterior of the nightclub with a careful eye.

Oliver chuckled. "A surprise, Speedy." To which, his sister huffed, and followed him in.

They walked past the bar, and watched as Oliver entered a code, they then descended down the steps. He turned on the power switch to reveal The Bunker.

Thea whistled. "This is so cool and high tech." She then spun around looking at the computers and the small arsenal he had down there. "It's like if Ted, Laurel and a nerd joined forces."

Oliver glanced at Laurel, who too was looking in awe. "Different to how you two usually operate?"

Thea nodded. "We, usually, get information from sources and work the beat. Our suits and gear are at Laurel's locked in a trunk in the closet."

Laurel remembered that Ted had never had a base of operations, he trained and worked in his gym but he never considered it a base. It was just an easy and central location to utilize and provided a reason as to why the weapons were around.

"And the gym?" Oliver asked, looking at Laurel.

"Ted's. He uses it when he occasionally has a fight in the city. Thea and I have spare keys, we use it for training."

It was then, that they heard a yelp in surprise. Felicity walked in to see Laurel and Thea.

"What are you doing here?" She asked in shock, and mild irritation lining her voice, as she looked between Oliver and Laurel. The I.T specialist narrowing her eyes at the unexpected visitors and wondering if they were a threat.

Oliver watched, as Laurel gracefully spun on her heel with a look of surprise, and her fist was coiled, preparing to fight. He gently uncurled her hand, and gave her hand a gentle squeeze, as he looked up at Felicity, who was descending down the steel stairs.

He was still surprised that Laurel had the grace, and fluidity in the way she prepared herself for a fight, and the way she fought. It also somewhat disconcerted him the way she fought, how she often forgot or actively chooses to disregard her scream, instead opting for close-quarter combat. Seeing how Laurel operated at Black Canary Oliver knew she liked using her powers as a last resort if possible, considering it could be deadly if used close enough on her enemies.

"It's alright, Felicity. They know." Oliver said, giving a small smile to his sister and Laurel. He was glad that he was able to be open and honest with the two most important people in his life.

"They know? As in… They know, know?" She asked, looking at Laurel with something that Oliver couldn't place.

He nodded, before clearing his throat. "Did you find anything?"

Felicity sat at her designated spot in front of the computers, and spun around, looking at Oliver's and Laurel's joined hands and frowned, before answering. "No mention of the Undertaking, Tempest, or Walter on your mother's phone lines."

Laurel leaned against a steel table, and crossed her arms, "Makes sense, she may have a burner phone, or met with her co-conspirators—" She then looked at Oliver, "If she is a part of Tempest, they wouldn't want anyone able to tap their lines, or the police or FBI tracking their communications."

Felicity coughed after Laurel spoke to get the room's attention. "I'm sorry, how is it you know our secret?" She then looked at Oliver. "Should she really be allowed in here? She's a lawyer, and a cop's daughter, no less." She said, thinking about how she had already narrowly escaped prison thanks to Cooper. Felicity was also experiencing a bout of jealousy especially seeing Oliver's ex-now-turned girlfriend. Felicity didn't quite know how to deal with the situation.

Not to mention that it seemed that when someone from The Lance family wanted something or were hunting for someone, they didn't stop until they got it. Determination and perseverance ran deep in their blood. She supposed it made sense. After Oliver had recruited her, she had done research into people that Oliver would come into contact with as The Hood. Quintin and Laurel Lance come from a long line of policemen. It was such a family legacy that she was sure if she saw one of them bleed, their blood would be blue… Not that she wanted them to bleed, nor would she want to be the one to nick or cut them.

Thea walked out from looking at her brother's arrow collection. "We are pooling our resources, and the Birds saved the Arrow's life. More than once in fact." Thea looked at her brother and gave him a mischievous wink.

"How? I mean, you two aren't exactly supermen… Women?"

Oliver rolled his eyes, as Thea preened. "I'm Speedy, you know the original good-guy archer, my brother, here, followed in my footsteps." She then gave her brother an impish grin, which Oliver gave a small playful scowl to his sister.

Oliver then pointed at Laurel, who nodded her consent. "She's the Black Canary."

Felicity's mouth made an 'O' shape. "Your ex-girlfriend saved Starling from Daniel Brickwell and the Gangs? And your sister is her protégé..."

"Partner." Thea corrected, without missing a beat.

"Who like you, is an archer."

Oliver nodded, silencing Thea's predictable retort stating that she was the first archer of the family, training as an archer since she was little, and became Speedy before The Arrow came on the scene, by a week or so. "Any questions?"

"Am I the only one, who didn't know?" Felicity asked, with slight trepidation.

Oliver shook his head; he knew that she wasn't going to like the answer. "Yeah. Diggle knows, I told him after they saved me."

Laurel then spoke, after a small awkward silence. "Perhaps you and Thea should confront your mother, and not as vigilantes, but as her concerned children. She may open up, to what she thinks are friendly faces. I have an idea."

Before anyone could leave, Felicity stopped them. "Before you guys interrogate your Mother," She said, looking at Oliver. "A violent crime was reported in The Glades. A meatpacking plant. The SCPD is too understaffed and too far away to respond."

Oliver turned to Laurel and Thea, knowing they would have to put the hunt for Tempest and Al-Saher on the backburner.

He felt both a sense of relief that he didn't have to face his mother's involvement in a criminal enterprise, but at the same time, he was annoyed that he couldn't face her now, to get her to switch sides, to atone. "You two get your suits, and meet me at the location."

* * *

Black Canary and The Arrow slowly walked into the vacant room, stainless steel tables with meat and bones left unattended.

As their boots slightly echoed in the cold room, they heard a man on a nearby television orating a speech in a foreign language as if he were speaking to the empty room with meat hooks, and bone saws.

The pair silently navigate the room, the smell of raw meat and iron invading their nostrils. The duo enters a refrigerated room, passing the strips of plastic in the doorway. Once inside, they saw rows of sides of beef, creating narrow walkways between each row.

Black Canary signaled him to take the opposite end, while she took the other. Whist they walked through the cold, meat smelling room, they heard Speedy on the comms.

" _Guys. We have dead guys suspended on meat hooks."_

Oliver beat Laurel to responding to Thea,  _"Where?"_

" _South end of the cool room, with suspended meats."_

Black Canary unclipped her baton, as she slowly made her way towards Thea, and soon Oliver. She took care to keep her eyes open for any more victims or the possible assailant. She reached the end of her hallway of animal corpses and found Speedy and The Arrow looking at several men suspended from meat hooks, the meat pegs through their ankles, others through their back and out through their stomach. All looking as they were punching bags hanging off the hooks.

On the ground in blood was the word ' _GUILTY'._

As Oliver walked past one of the Hispanic men, the man grabbed his leg, and murmured the name "Paco."

Thea looked ready to pull each of the victims off from the hooks that they were impaled on. She had dealt with gnarly things in her short tenure as a vigilante, but had never been exposed to something like this… It was insane as if the scene was something from a horror movie, only more visceral, and real.

"We have to help them!" Speedy urged her two teammates, "We can't just leave them here." She felt the bile rise form her stomach and into her throat.

Oliver shook his head beneath his green hood, "Can't, but we can ensure that the people or person who did this can never do this to anyone again." He then gave her a small comforting shoulder squeeze, "We can't save everyone, Speedy."

Black Canary cased the cold room, before looking at the pair of them, "We should go. SCPD will be here shortly."

* * *

After arriving back at base, the vigilantes discussed the grizzly scene they had attended to. "Guilty. Kinda ironic considering that the whoever did this is as violent as The Culebras are currently the bloodiest gang in Starling." Felicity said as she briefed the team on the current case.

Oliver sat his bow down on the table next to Laurel's nightstick, "Who's the second bloodiest?"

"Now that the Los Halcones have been dealt with, thanks to The Birds of Prey?" She asked, nodding towards Laurel and Thea, the latter of which was still ashen from what she had seen. "You two are still The Birds, right? Is this a joint-task force thing? Or are you a part of Team Arrow, or…" She looked at Oliver and pointed at him from her swivel chair, "Are you a Bird now?"

Oliver pinched the bridge of his nose, "We can talk about how this will work after, just know that for now, we are allies and that should be enough."

Diggle crossed his arms, as he saw that liver looked uncomfortable, "Felicity, who is the second bloodiest now that Los Halcones are out of the picture?"

Felicity started rapidly typing on her computer and brought up police records and newspaper articles. "The Outsiders Biker Gang, after the Turf Wars, and the loss of influence and territory, these two have been gearing up for territorial war."

Laurel stood up from leaning against the glass case that usually held Oliver's suit, "So then we can write this event as the Outsiders sending a warning to their rival gang? A declaration of war? And suspending people from meat hooks seems too excessive."

Oliver noticed that Thea remained pale, and quiet, after witnessing the men impaled by meat hooks. "Speedy, take the rest of the night off, we need you to be ready for whatever happens with Mom, and Tempest."

"But…" She looked over at Laurel for someone to support her, only to see another face that was full of worry for her, "Fine, but if you need help call me alright?"

Laurel leaned towards her and tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear, "If we run into too much trouble, we can call you."

Thea nodded numbly before she walked out of The Bunker, she would go see if Roy wanted to catch a late-night movie and hang out. She needed to get the sight of the impaled men out of her head. It was strange; she had seen people with arrows embedded in them, gunshot fatalities and wounds, stabbings and knife slashes but seeing people impaled was different.

It made her realize just how dangerous this life was and reaffirmed to herself that they were truly fighting the good fight, preventing even the slimiest and violent of criminals from being murdered in such an agonizing way.

Diggle looked back at the monitor, after Oliver and Laurel had watched the youngest Queen sibling to leave, "Paco?"

Felicity revealed that there were way too many people with the name Paco, let alone nicknames.

Oliver looked over to Laurel, who was typing something on her phone, before she looked up, "I reckon that the Outsiders Biker Gang will narrow down that pool for us. "You ready?"

"Yep," She answered, as she pulled on her gloves, and started to lift her mask from her neck, where it was suspended from.

Diggle spoke, not looking away from the monitor, "We find Paco, he will likely be too dead to speak to us. Whoever did this was methodical, and not one to let a loose end go."

"Good thing that we aren't looking for him. We are going to go after whoever did this."

* * *

As the pair of vigilantes sped down the roads of Starling, Laurel could feel her hair billowing behind her, as she held on tight to Oliver's back, finding comfort in the action. She took a moment, as she could feel him breathing, how far the two of them had come since he had left for the island, or even since he came home. Her conversation with Ted was still on her mind, she knew that he was being overprotective. Ollie had changed, he wasn't who he once was, and yet, was it wrong to feel like it may be too good to be true?

Once they arrived at their destination, Black Canary hopped off the back of The Arrow's motorcycle, and walked in step with him, as they walked towards the front door of the Club House. Oliver looked at Laurel, "Who were you texting during the meeting?"

"A friend, he's back in town," Laurel answered, not wanting elaborate that it was in fact, Ted. The last thing she wanted was the two getting into a fight over her.

Oliver let it go, as they stood a few paces away from the guard of the clubhouse.

The burly bouncer seemed amused by their suits, "Buzz off freaks, Halloween was a few months ago." He then snorted as he looked Black Canary up and down, undressing her with his eyes, "Though if you want, I can let you two enter if me and the boys get some private time with your girl?"

The Arrow tensed at the insinuation, before looking at his partner, then smirking at the bouncer, "How about you ask her to sing for you as well?"

"I thought you would never ask, Robin Hood." Laurel quipped.

As the bouncer looked at her again with his lecherous gaze, she swung her fist, that collided with his jaw, forcing him to stumble back into the doors.

"You're real… You're actually them!" He stuttered in shock, as he was about to pull out his sidearm, Canary used her cry, knocking the guard out, and forcing the door off its hinges and through the main bar room of the pub.

As the pair walked in, they proceeded to take out the number of thugs who had rushed at them. Black Canary utilized her superior agility, bobbing and weaving, sending either forceful kicks or using her baton to either disarm or knock out the room of thugs, while The Arrow fired his bow, before using his bow as a quarterstaff knocking people out.

A rather large member of Outsiders stormed towards Black Canary and before she could unleash her powers on them, picked her up with ease and threw her across the room, landing, and subsequently breaking the table she landed on, as it was crushed beneath her.

The Arrow having eyed his target walked towards the man like a predator, and attempted to hit him with the side of his bow but to his surprise, the bearded man snatched the bow from The Arrow's grip and tossed it away, and rushed towards the hooded man intending to kill him with his bare hands. The Arrow ducked and rolled away choosing to get more breathing room and hoping to regain the advantage. Luck was on his side as Oliver saw Canary's tonfa next to him, he picked it up and one movement swung it at the man's knee making him lose his balance, before noticing his partner in black picking up his bow, "Canary catch!"

He threw a bola arrow, towards her, she caught the missile deftly and shot the arrow ensnaring the man against a thick hardwood pillar, holding up the second floor, balcony area overlooking the pool tables.

He panted, "You alright Pretty Bird?"

Laurel nodded, leaning against the wall, "Yeah, let's find out if they know about Paco, then we can find a lead on our man." She then handed him back his bow, and he, her nightstick.

Oliver couldn't help but comment to her, "You were pretty good with that bow." Canary smiled and said, "I wasn't just trained with nightstick and fists."

They walked towards the burly man, "I'm looking for a Culebra member named Paco!" The Arrow growled at the trapped man that had thrown Laurel as if she were no more than a rag doll.

It was something that he would have to get used to, seeing Laurel getting hurt, seeing Thea hurt. It was a part of the job. They had chosen this life on their own accord, and Laurel had definitely experienced worse than being thrown into tables and chairs.

He had almost killed her, it was something that he would never forget, nor forgive himself for, even if Laurel already had given him her forgiveness.

He saw Laurel out of the corner of his eye with a busted lip, he squeezed his eyes shut before focussing back on the mission at hand, he knocked an arrow and drew it, aiming at the man's shoulder.

"Emilio?" The man squeaked.

"No, we want Paco." Black Canary said as she clipped her baton back to her hip.

"That's what they call him, man." He panted, his breathing was hindered by the tight restraints that Laurel had ensnared him with, "Paco is that rat bastard's street name."

"Give me his actual name!" The Arrow snarled, as he stood above the gang member domineering fashion.

"Emilio… Emilio Ortega." The Thug rasped out, looking at the man above him in fear. "Please don't kill me, please. I have a family, two kids…"

"Thank you." Black Canary said, before glancing at her partner.

"I won't kill you, but that doesn't mean that this won't hurt." He then shot the arrow into his knee.

The man howled in pain; The Arrow walked away with Canary on his heels. "What was that?" She asked as she grabbed his shoulder turning him to face her.

"A warning, the only thing these people understand is; pain. He will remember tonight, and will spread the word to these people that we aren't to be trifled with."

"Knocking him out would have garnered the same outcome."

It was likely true, but he wouldn't let the man toss Laurel aside as if she was nothing. She may be used to being someone's punching bag in a fight, but he wouldn't stand for it. "He threw you across the room! He could have broken bones or killed you if you landed wrong." He shot back.

Laurel shook her head and crossed her arms. "I can handle it. It wasn't the first time, and won't be my last. I'm a big girl, Ollie. As much as I appreciate your chivalrous actions, I can handle it myself."

"I will always try to help you, Pretty Bird." He said sincerely, while he stepped in front of her, closing the distance between them.

She cupped her hand to his cheek, "And I, you, but we have to acknowledge that neither of us are helpless, and begin to work as a team and trust each other in the field. Or us, as a team can't work."'

"I'll try." He replied, as they mounted the motorcycle and headed towards The Bunker.

* * *

The next day, Laurel had met up with Ted at his gym, they had been training all day, knife defense training, obstacle course, and now they were sparring. She felt like she was back in Central City training with Ted, it brought back fond memories of working beside her mentor, or watching him as The Central City South Paw, in the boxing scene.

She sent several jabs his way, a right hook, followed by a left faint, which he easily deflected, he had his trademark grin on his face that she had initially believed when she started out as him mocking her, in reality, he legitimately enjoyed watching his students make strides in their forms.

"That's not bad, Dinah. I see your solo work in The Glades last year improved your footwork." He praised with his former student, with a wide grin gracing his face.

"Yeah, better than 'not bad.'" She grunted as she sent a front snap kick towards him.

His grin hadn't left his face, as he dodged the attack, and continued to bob and weave, the pair circling each other and bobbing on their toes waiting for each other to make the first move.

Ted sent a left hook, though, instead of delivering a punch, he wrapped his leg around her's and sent her to the floor, "Not bad, Dinah."

"Have I mentioned how much I hate that move?"

"Repeatedly." He answered, "How's Casanova's sister handling her night job?" He asked as he helped her up, and threw her a towel, before grabbing himself one to wipe down the sweat.

"She's good, though last night she did encounter her first gnarly crime scene. Men impaled on meat hooks." She grabbed her water bottle from the corner of the ring, "Why, you planning on actually sparring with her without a handicap?"

Ted chuckled, before he wiped his face, "Give her some time, this is one of her trials. A make it or break it. It will test her resolve, test if she really is cut out for our line of work."

"She is," Laurel answered emphatically. "I know my sister."

"It's about whether she thinks she's capable, Dinah." As they climbed out of the ring, he looked at her, "You stopped eating that egg white crap, that you tried when you were in Central?"

She swallowed some of the water from her bottle, "Yeah, you were right. There are better tasting proteins than egg whites."

"Speaking of which, we can get fish tacos and watch the King vs Jones fight. Goliath vs Killer Croc."

Laurel graced her friend with a smirk, "First, I'll have a shower then we can go?"

Ted replied amused, "Lead the way Tweety Bird, just don't take too much time," causing Laurel to throw a towel in his face with a chuckle.


	18. Wildcat

The Arrow was on his usual patrol, Laurel was out with her friend, Thea was also taking the night off following the previous night with the meatpacking plant.

After he had finished preventing a robbery, he heard Felicity over the comms link.  _"Oliver, I have Emilio Ortega's location. His phone was pinged in The Glades, 9_ _th_ _and Hasen."_ Oliver felt the blood rush out of him, that was where Laurel and Thea trained.

Wildcat's Gym.

He felt his stomach lurch at the thought of either of them being killed by whoever tortured and killed the members of The Culebras.

" _Should I alert Canary_ and Speedy?" Felicity asked with slight trepidation.

"No." He answered after a beat. "No, I'll handle it." He had a feeling the girls wouldn't be happy with him being left out of the loop, especially due to the fact that the place was important to them.

He made his way into Wildcat's Gym and turned on his small tactical flashlight to illuminate the pitch-black gym. The musty smell of sweat invaded his nostrils as he walked around the boxing ring. The ring that Laurel and Thea had taken him to and had their friend operate on him following the fight with The Dark Archer.

Where his sister and the woman he loved saved him from bleeding out.

The Arrow moved across the see a man dangling lifelessly from his ankles, his face bruised and bloodied, below the suspended man was a pool of his own blood, and behind the murdered man was the words in blood, it was the same word that he saw the day before;  _GUILTY._

All of a sudden, the room illuminated in a blinding white light, due the lights were switched on. A well-built man wearing a dark-colored hoody walked in and glared at him with an almost animalistic snarl. His hand with slight droplets of blood started to curl into a fist.

The Arrow pointed his bow and arrow at the older man, "Why did you kill all those men?"

"I don't think you of all people have the right to lecture anyone." The man growled, "Besides, what are you prattling on about?"

It was then that Oliver saw Laurel walk in behind the man, she was wearing her gym clothes, "What are you doing?" She asked in shock as she saw Oliver standing across the room with his bow aimed at Ted.

"Get out of here." Oliver watched as Laurel and her friend saw the dead man suspended from the ceiling, her safe haven had been infringed on by the man she was with.

"Oh my god," She said, as she walked in front of the man, she was with, to get a better look at the dead man.

"Now, Laurel!" Oliver bellowed through his voice modulator. The last thing he needed was her getting stuck between this murder and himself and feigning a fragile bird, or worse being hit from behind by a  _supposed_  friend.

"No." She said resolutely. "Ted didn't do this. I trust him."

So, this was Ted Grant. The man that had helped Laurel, made her a fighter. At that moment he felt both grateful for the man, that he had helped Laurel work past her grief and anger, instead of letting her stew in it for five years. He also felt anger, and something else, something he didn't want to name.

Oliver usually had good control of his emotions but seeing Grant threw off his balance. This was the man that had put Laurel on the path to getting hurt or worse in a never-ending battle against the scum of the city. Oliver by his indomitable force of will centered himself and his thoughts when he heard Laurel's determined voice, He was broken from his thoughts when he heard Laurel's determined voice, "Ted has been with me the entire day. He trained with me, then we went to dinner and watched a boxing match and that…." She gestured at the hanging body, "He wasn't here when we left."

The Arrow reluctantly lowered his bow. "What about the blood on his fists?"

Ted wiped the blood on his pant leg, as if it was nothing to him, "Got into a fight with a tough guy who thought it would be funny to break into an electronics store."

Oliver gave Laurel a look that said we need to talk before he shot his grapple arrow, and left out through the skylight.

Laurel turned to look at her former mentor, "I'm sorry about him, he can be rather…"

"Abrasive?"

"Protective." Laurel corrected. "He's been through a lot."

Ted hummed, and pulled out his phone, then looked at her, "Dinah, I hope you know what you're doing, getting into bed with The Arrow. He's a killer. He's not the same as us, we believe that the system is flawed, but is still there for a reason. We are preventing criminals from falling through the cracks. Casanova doesn't share our ideology."

Laurel froze, "I never said…"

He gave her a small shrug and maintaining eye contact with Laurel. "You didn't have to. I've been in the vigilante business before you were out of elementary school. I know some stuff, and I have been in your position once or twice."

"Like I said, He has been through a lot. And he's finally coming out of his shell and is trying to acclimatize to his new environment. He's for the most part given up killing his targets."

Ted looked at her with a doubtful look, "Just be careful all the same, Dinah."

Laurel watched silently as Ted pulled out his phone and proceeded to walk away to call in the crime to the SCPD.

Almost ten minutes later, her father and his cops had arrived, she had given her statement, and saw Ted doing the same with Lucas Hilton. While the rest of the beat cops were taking photos, gathering evidence and drawing sketches of the crime scene.

"So that's it?" Her father asked, his eyes assessing that she wasn't hurt from the event. "The busted lip?" He said gesturing to her injury.

"Was from last night, Outsider's clubhouse. "Quintin looked unhappy but didn't voice his discontent, knowing it wouldn't amount to much other than pushing his only living daughter away from him. Quintin glanced around the room, while she continued, "You can put me on the box if you'd like?"

Her father scoffed with an amused smile, "If I wanted to give either of my girls a polygraph, it would have happened when you and your sister discovered boys or beer." That caused both; father and daughter to chuckle before Laurel looked over her shoulder to see Ted describing what happened to Hilton and a few cops.

"So, listen, what's the story between you and him? He's a little old for you, don't you think?"

Laurel smiled at his protectiveness, "He's my mentor. He helped me back in Central City, he helped me rebuild myself after the Gambit." It went unsaid what Ted Grant had also helped her become.

"And you went to dinner with him?"

"And watched a boxing match. Not exactly a prime location for a date." She answered while crossing her arms. "No, we went as friends, and I can tell you with absolute certainty that Ted would never do something like this."

Lance raised his hands in surrender, "All right, fair enough. But regardless we have to hold him till the coroner reports back to us, if what they say corroborates with what you and Grant have said, we will cut him loose."

Laurel gave her father a small hug, and kissed him on the cheek, before leaving out the fire escape door that leads outside to a side alley. She didn't feel like walking in front of the numerous officers and reporters, so she continued down the alley to see Oliver. He was still dressed in his suit, looking at her with a small scowl.

As she moved closer, he lowered his hood, though he remained in the shadows. "Well?"

She crossed her arms, "Well, it was like I said to you earlier, he didn't do it."

"Let's give him the benefit of the doubt, why would a mass murderer string up bodies in Grant's gym?"

Laurel scoffed, "Ted caters a range of people that could be rougher around the edges all the way up to cops."

Oliver shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "There's something else?"

She bit her lip and winced at the reminder of her busted lip, "He used to be a vigilante. I was his student, when I said he was my instructor, he was more than a life coach who taught me how to box. He taught me how to fight, how to protect those that couldn't protect themselves—When the Gambit sunk with you and Sara… I felt like I was drowning. I couldn't cope, I was lashing out. He helped me learn how to stay afloat. Does that sound like a murderer to you?"

"It's a slippery slope, Laurel." He replied, before asking; "Who does he believe it is?"

"Someone that he may have run afoul? He occasionally rubs people the wrong way, it could be one of them sending him a message."

Oliver wouldn't fault anyone for being irritated at the boxer. He certainly was not an easy-going man. To Oliver, he seemed prickly. "A name?" He shot out.

"He doesn't know," Laurel replied just as quickly. Oliver had a gut feeling Grant knew more than he was letting on, and was pulling the wool of Laurel's eyes.

Oliver bobbed his head, as he thought for a few seconds, "I want to speak to him."

"About this case or me?" Shea asked coolly.

"You don't exactly have a clean record when it comes to putting your faith in someone, myself included." Hell, he could have added Tommy as well, god knows that neither of them was particularly good influences on her growing up.

She's always been an idealist, and too forgiving of others. He had used her, took her for granted. And now it was certainly possible that this Ted Grant was doing the same thing, taking advantage of Laurel's good nature. A small part of him wanted to dismiss it as him being paranoid over her safety, but he couldn't take that risk.

Laurel pulled back slightly, giving him a scowl, he noticed that her shoulders had become loose. She was ready for a fight. "That's a low blow, Ollie." She warned.

He thinned his lips and gave her a look. "Keep your eyes open with this guy, is all I'm saying."

"He didn't do this." She said defensively.

"All the same." He said before leaving Laurel in the alley, preventing himself from saying the wrong thing and ruining his relationship with Laurel. Not after the pair of them had finally been able to be on the same page.

He would investigate Grant on his own and find out what the man was hiding. He owed Laurel that much.

* * *

In his headquarters Oliver was sitting on one of the chairs, staring at the case that housed his suit, and the table next to it that currently had both Laurel's suit and arms on one end, and Thea's on the other. He could hear Diggle cleaning his pistol, "You ever hear about a man named; Ted Grant?" Oliver asked his friend.

"Funny you should ask a few years ago, I caught a game of his when I was on shore leave in Central City. He's a boxer, called him Central City's South Paw. My old C.O. told me once that he had served with him during the First Gulf War. A lieutenant in the Marine Corps, a scout sniper. One of the best he had ever seen. They called him Wildcat."

Wildcat.

So, this man, this ex-marine an elite one at that, boxer, and then vigilante, was truly the man that had trained and molded Laurel into becoming the Black Canary. A hero and symbol of hope to many. No matter what differences Oliver may have had with Grant he respected what he had gone through and the role he played in shaping Laurel's life.

"The body in his gym was displayed in the same way as the ones in the meatpacking plant though, without the meat hooks. His ankles were bound and cutting into his flesh as he was suspended by his feet. As if they were punching bags."

Thea looked at Oliver, he hadn't noticed that she had entered. He was likely too busy focusing on Grant and Laurel. "What if Laurel vouches for him?"

Oliver looked at her and shook his head. "I don't think that Laurel is thinking clearly." He stood up from his seat, "Thea, you met this guy what do you think of him?"

"He's rough around the edges, judgy… But Laurel trusts him, So I put aside my dislike for him so that he could help with some pointers in my training. He didn't seem like a killer, but to be fair, I didn't anticipate you being under the hood for a while. So, I suppose that anything is possible."

"If Grant's more than a boxer, and an ex-Marine what's your play? You two are teammates, more than." Diggle said as he rubbed his gun down with a rag. "You two are supposed to be equals. I haven't known Laurel as long as you have, but I highly doubt she is the kind of woman that would appreciate you going over her head."

Before Oliver could retort, Felicity spoke interrupting the conversation with an update on their current case, "I hacked into the CSU files on the warehouse murders. The Culebras were armed to the teeth, but the killer, the psycho, mass murderer guy, never fired a shot. Our masked cleared out the meatpacking plant, a front for their organization, by the way, with only brass knuckles."

Oliver looked at his sister, before glancing at his other two teammates, "It's a very specific M.O."

"Oh..." Felicity said she walked quickly over to her computer to bring up case files from CCPD. "This M.O. matches the closest to a vigilante known colloquially as either; The Man in Black, or… Wildcat. He stopped his vigilantism a few months before The Woman in Black started to appear in Starling."

It was too much of a coincidence, the connection between Grant, Wildcat and the brass knuckles used to kill the gangbangers.

The computer beeped, as the screen showed the location of someone and their Coordinates. Grant was on the move.

Thea quirked her brow, "You're tracing his location? Laurel won't like that."

Oliver walked to his bow that rested on the table, "Just because Laurel trusts him, doesn't mean that I have to. Give me his location when he goes to wherever he is going."

"You want back up?"

Oliver shook his head, "Hang back, Speedy. I need you on the bench in case something else happens elsewhere in the city."

He heard Thea grab her suit, and head off to the change room, preparing for the call to stop any active violent crimes.

* * *

The Arrow arrived at the location that Ted Grant had stopped moving, he was in an old storage yard, The Arrow stalked around the corridors to see one of the roller doors open, inside was an assortment of gym equipment, a small arsenal, photographs of Grant and his former comrades.

As he walked in, he saw another strung up like a punching bag.

The archer turned to see a black mask and knuckle busters. He gripped his bow tighter, as he continued to search the room.

As Oliver went to pick up one of the brass knuckles that were painted black, he was tackled to the ground, by a dark figure.

Wildcat held The Arrow in a chokehold, "Shhhh.'" Wildcat shushed the archer, "Relax, you struggle and it will hurt a lot more later."

"Pain and I are old friends." The Arrow muttered, as he loosened the grip of his foe, and threw him over his shoulder.

The Arrow watched as Wildcat gracefully rolled away, instead of hitting the hard cement and sprung up to his feet. Wildcat raised his hands in a guard position, "I was wondering when you, Casanova, would start to ruin Dinah's life. Her reputation as a hero, every time she works alongside you, you tarnish her reputation. Canary may trust you but I sure as hell don't."

"She makes her own choices." The Archer gruffly replied as he started to throw punches at the dark-clad vigilante.

Wildcat was able to most blows and seemed to dance around Oliver confusing him as he couldn't get a handle on his fighting style just yet. Wildcat used the archer's apparent distraction and delivered a hard blow to The Arrow's stomach, as he ducked under another of The Arrow's swings, as he was using his bow as a staff.

The Arrow winded managed to launch a sidekick at Grant pushing him away and giving Oliver the time to stab an arrow into a lone boxing glove and shoot it at Wildcat, knocking him into the ground. Wildcat just cracked his neck and gave a dark smirk as his tongue licked away the blood from his busted lip. It made the man in front of him look something animalistic was clawing its way to the surface, clawing to be let out.

Wildcat indeed.

The Arrow advanced towards him and growled, "It is the second time that I have found you with a body!" Wildcat jumped back to his feet, his hands back into the guard position that reminded Oliver of Laurel. Oliver lowered his bow slightly, at the thought of him hurting her close friend too much.

"I'm being set up, Casanova." Wildcat panted, his chest heaving, and his exposed chin glistened from exertion. It was only then that Oliver noticed that Wildcat's suit had navy-blue-almost black segments on his suit covering his internal organs and arteries, the rest was pitch black.

Oliver let the repeated the unflattering nickname aside, "Why should I believe you?"

"Because I used to be a vigilante. I trained Dinah, allowed your sister who has a right mouth on her to go out in the field." He cleared his throat, "The way I see it, I'm responsible for two-thirds of your field operatives." Wildcat huffed, "Noticed that you came alone, I assume that Dinah does not approve of your visit?" When all the former marine saw was The Emerald Archer's jaw tighten, he chuckled. "The way she explained it, was that you were partners, equals. Not so much, huh?"

"She can get too emotionally involved in cases." The Arrow defended himself through gritted teeth.

"Pot calling the kettle black, don't ya think? Billionaire playboy, with a perchance of cheating on the girl who loves him, comes home and plays modern-day, urban Robin Hood, robbing the same people inhabited your father's world. It screams daddy issues."

"It's more complicated than that." Oliver felt like shooting an arrow into Wildcat just for mocking his long-dead father, it was one thing to acknowledge that his father was not a saint, but another to hear someone, a virtual stranger verbally mick him.

"It always is," Wildcat granted, "Doesn't change the fact that you are a hypocrite."

Oliver had enough, he didn't want to talk about himself, nor his relationship with Laurel. He pointed at the body suspended from the ceiling. "Who's that?"

"Never seen him before." He then glanced at Oliver and tossed him a key on a chain from his pocket. "I found the key, it led to the storage locker. He's leaving a trail for me to follow."

"Who?"

"Whoever is setting me up.'" Wildcat replied curtly, "Now, I can do this myself, or you can do this with me."

"Your old domain was Central City, why is your gear here?"

"Better to be further away from the suit and gear. And if you did your homework, you would also see that the name of the lease is under a different name. Thomas Bronson. I locked this place up not long after Dinah passed her bar exam. I had passed on the torch."

"Who else knows about the locker?"

Ted scoffed, "No one… maybe Dinah?"

"Dinah? You mean Laurel?"

The veteran snorted, "Your sister asked the same thing, yes, it's her name. Is it not?" The man then lowered his cowl, revealing his silver-grey hair. "It seems that for now, our interests align. We can help each other find out who did this."

That doesn't mean we are friends." The Arrow said.

"It never crossed my mind, Casanova."

* * *

The Arrow and Wildcat found Black Canary by Starling Bay. To say she was surprised to see them working together was an understatement. Canary handed the archer a dossier, while Oliver grunted at Wildcat to give them some privacy.

Black Canary rolled her eyes, as she briefed Oliver on the victim. She gave him the name of their victim, his almost clean criminal record sans, a few unpaid parking fines.

"Grant says that he doesn't know him."

She crossed her arms, "Oh, now you believe him?" She asked in an unamused voice.

"Haven't decided, yet."

"Do you want to talk about how you circumvented me and put a tracer on someone I personally vouched for?" She asked, "I'm not the same girl that you knew before the island. While I believe in second chances, and the chance for someone to atone for their crimes, it doesn't make me naïve."

"I…"

"I thought we were partners? We would be on equal footing?"

"I didn't want you to get hurt." He answered honestly, as he yet again suffered a flashback of Laurel with an arrow protruding in her belly. His arrow. He shuddered, as he looked back to her.

"I can remain objective when on the case, I have been taught how to compartmentalize. If Ted was the killer, I would be the first person to haul him off to jail. But's he's not, so I'm not. And you should give me the benefit of the doubt, especially if we are going to trust each other." She lowered her voice, "I already trust you, Ollie. You need to learn to trust me."

Wildcat turned around from gazing boringly at the water view, "You two lovebirds finished your private chit-chat?"

Laurel took the dossier and handed it to her mentor, "The guy from your storage unit, he doesn't have any criminal record that would imply any sort of nefarious or illicit activity."

"It's a trail, someone obviously wants to follow their trail, or frame me for murder, wouldn't be the first time in my line of work."

Black Canary nodded in agreement, "Then we follow the trail."

The Arrow growled, "We need another minute."

Ted turned to look at Laurel, seeing if she was in agreement, much to The Arrow's chagrin, after seeing her nod, he acquiesced. "Fine, but keep the relationship out of the workplace, and in the bedroom." He then paced off, to look at the water again.

"You cannot be serious?" Oliver asked Laurel.

"I told you, we either do this as a team, or we shake hands and part ways. Thea can make up her own mind. You're the one who agreed to work as a team, offered us your base to work out of. If I'm a part of this we do this as equals, you and me. Neither one of us circumvent the other or go behind each other's backs. Equal partnership?"

Oliver gritted his teeth, "Fine. One chance for him to prove his innocence before I hunt him down."

"That's all I ask. And FYI, you are going to have to go through me to get to him, I will protect someone who is innocent." Oliver didn't say anything in response to that.

They then turned around and walked towards the location where the last victim used to work. The Zanzibar.

* * *

Diggle pulled up in his black van, not far from The Zanzibar, he looked over at Thea, who had her legs up on the dashboard, and her legs crossed at the ankles, as she read a woman's magazine of some description.

"I'm on-site, and Speedy is ready to be tagged in."

"Damn right," she muttered, Diggle turned to look at the youngest member of the team, she looked sick after she saw what happened at the meatpacking plant.

Diggle reclined his seat slightly, and cleared his throat, still looking at the youngest member of their team. "You alright after what happened the other night?"

He watched as Thea exhaled audibly, but otherwise didn't move, pretending to read the magazine in her hands. It was certainly a strange thing, seeing a vigilante reading a fashion magazine, he thought as he watched as licked her finger and flicked the page over.

"Thea?" He probed

"I just have never seen anything like that before." She answered quietly. "I mean, I've seen some really bad things; I have seen Laurel on death's doorstep, same with Ollie… I've seen people with puncture wounds and gunshot wounds, stabbings... but nothing like that before… it was a wakeup call that this is real, and some really shitty people exist."

Diggle nodded, he could certainly relate after his tours in Afghanistan and helping Oliver with his crusade. "I know what you mean. My first time was on my first day on my first tour in Afghanistan, I saw men using children as suicide bombers. Kids that couldn't have been older than five or six." He had nightmares of watching a child that couldn't have been much older than A.J., for months after.

"How did you deal with it?" Thea asked finally looking up from her magazine, her brown eyes imploring him to give her some wisdom.

Diggle clicked his tongue as he thought of the right words. "I had to move forward, and recognize that the world is a lot crueler than it has any right to be. And understand that I was, and still am doing my part to make the world a better place." Speedy couldn't help but smile at his reassurance.

* * *

While Diggle and Thea continued to wait in the van, the trio of vigilantes walked down the aisle of the dark theatre warily of their surroundings. Canary muttered out loud "This just screams trap." All of a sudden spotlight hit them, blinding them and concealing the man who stood behind them.

"Teddy boy, Teddy, Ted, Ted, Ted. I see you got my message?"

The mysterious man then started shooting at them with a high-powered gun forcing each of the vigilantes to duck and cover underneath some steel chairs. Bullets ricocheted off them as the vigilantes gathered to plan how to take down the killer

"Arrows, batons, brass knuckles. I never understood why you never used a gun like they did!"

Wildcat, vaulted over a chair, and hid behind a wall, dodging several bullets as he did. "We are better than them. Fighting fire with fire just makes a bigger fire."

"I trusted you to take them down for good! You mustn't have cared for your wife, my sister and my niece and nephew! You promised me that when you returned home, you would deal with him."

"And I did. They are rotting in Slabside for life without the possibility of parole."

"You should have killed them, you're lucky that I've been a part of a task force that kept me in line for a long time, and provided me with an explosive incentive deep in the back of my neck to keep on the straight and narrow. My time with them came to an end, and now you have come to yours."

" _Canary, Arrow_ SCPD has arrived. You gotta move!" Diggle said over the comms. Wildcat didn't want to leave but one look from Canary told him they had no choice. While Black Canary and Speedy might be given a free pass by the police that same courtesy didn't extend to him and Green Arrow.

Canary used her cry, to break the spotlights, as the vigilantes fled from the scene, just as the cops pulled up outside.

* * *

Ted whistled, as he looked at The Bunker, "Fancy, a little too high tech for my liking. I prefer old-school."

"But… the computers and technology…" Felicity replied looking slightly offended.

"Can be back channeled, can be a crutch and numb your instincts."

Oliver lowered his hood, and put his bow away, "I need a name, Grant." Oliver growled as he glared at Laurel's Mentor.

Ted sighed, as he removed his cowl, and brushed his fingers through his cropped hair. "Isaac Stanzler. He was a lieutenant the same as me, and the step-brother to my wife. He was given an offer to work for a clandestine sub-section of the military, off the books. Not long after that, I was due to come home, that's when Luciano Costa, a member of the Mexican drug cartel killed my family. All because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time." He wiped the tear from his eye.

"Stanzler said that you promised him you would take down Costa. But he misunderstood?" Laurel asked as turned to her mentor.

Ted shook his head, and looked at her with a look of guilt, "I promised him that I would put a bullet through his forehead. When I got home, I realized I wouldn't be better than him if I did the same, so I would let him rot in Slabside never to see anywhere beyond the prison walls." He cleared his throat, "I can take solace knowing that he and his will rot behind bars, with no chance of parole, but every action, but every action he takes weighs heavily on me regardless."

Laurel put her arm around Ted in a side hug. "It's not your fault. The fault lies with that sicko who decided to cross the line and become a cold-blooded killer. We will bring him to justice and clear your name." Laurel said. Ted said nothing but felt grateful that he was not alone in this.

* * *

Laurel started walking up to her apartment, only to find her door slightly ajar. She felt her heart race in her chest. She looked up and down the hallway, before slowly picking the small pistol her father had given her that was currently strapped around her calf, just above her ankle.

She cocked the gun, and turned off the safety, while internally debating on whether or not she should call Ted, Ollie and or Thea.

She should be able to handle a thief without much of an issue. With having decided her course of action, Laurel slowly advanced upon her front door and pushed it open to reveal her home. Upon a cursory glance, her belongings hadn't been ransacked.

Thank god she and Thea had left their equipment and their suits at Ollie's underground fortress. He had made some significant upgrades to both his team that initially just started with him. He had Diggle, a war veteran, Felicity, The technology, his bunker and his wealth.

While she had a head start on him, she couldn't claim to have made any significant strides in her team, nor their way to pursue crimes. Why hadn't she thought about recruiting Caitlin? Or Cisco? The latter definitely would have signed on considering how he admires both her and her sister.

What could she and Thea bring to the table to Oliver and his team? She had her powers, sure, but Laurel disliked relying on her power, especially because she can tear doors off their hinges, shatter glass, and cause a truck to skid off the road, it was certainly an ever-present possibility that she could kill someone, intentionally or otherwise with her power.

Thea, while an invaluable partner is still a novice. A skilled one, but Speedy still had to still earn her spurs, Compared to Ollie, or Diggle, she was new to the dangers and hell people can give others.

She shook her head, and cleared her mind of her doubts, and proceeded into her apartment, and started to slowly clear the living room her acute senses straining to pick anything up. A loud crash from the corner of the living room drew her attention causing her to point her gun in that direction. Sensing a presence right behind her Laurel realized the noise was a distraction and started to turn around but wasn't quick enough as she felt a blade rest against her throat and a raspy voice whisper in her ear. "No sudden movements, Sweetheart. Or I will open your throat over this room. Nod if you understand." Laurel blinked, as she nodded. She looked around the room as he snatched the gun from her hand. "You Dinah Lance?"

"Yes."

"Good. I'm going to lower the knife, and you are going to comply with every demand I give you."

"And why would I do that?" She asked hotly.

"I have a someone aiming a rifle at your father's head. You do anything stupid like resisting me, fighting me, or using that banshee wail… Let's just say that another Lance will bite the dust."

Laurel froze. The man knew that she was Black Canary, and that's who her family was. And just who is important to her. The next thing she felt was the butt of her pistol, hitting that back of her head, and the world around her went dark.

The next thing she knew, she woke up with a blinding pain in the back of her head. She slowly opened her eyes to see the slightly fuzzy outlines of a shipping container. She could see the interior walls had the same sort of ridges as many of the containers that adorned the cargo port in Starling.

Laurel held on to her consciousness as the door opened with a loud squeak, as if the doors hadn't been used for some time and had been rusted by the elements. Isaac Stanzler walked in with a cocky smirk, as he marched towards her.

He pulled up a stool, that she hadn't noticed was near her. "So, you're Teddy's new pet project? What were you when he deluded you into fighting for a fool's crusade? Mentally ill? Low-Self-esteem? Did you lose someone you love? You joined a militaristic cult, Dinah. Ted took advantage of you, just as he did to me."

Her brows furrowed at him, she couldn't speak and barely breath thanks to the metal collar around her neck, that just barely allowed her to wheeze when she breathed. "He saved me."

Ted had helped her overcome her grief, her anger. He had turned those emotions, that drive into something productive, to help people that couldn't protect themselves. Ted had given her the tools to become the woman she is today.

He gave her a condescending look of pity. "Oh, sweet girl. That's what cults make you think. And now you are acting as his recruiter for the cause. You sucked in the red archer, and now The Arrow?"

"The Arrow makes his own choices…. Speedy wasn't manipulated, neither was I."

"We can debate semantics when Teddy comes." He looked over at the large man behind him. "Take the bait to the drop location." He then looked back at Laurel, as the guard walked out. "Teddy will come running to protect his family." He then chuckled lightly. "He will receive your tacky bird necklace, must be something to keep you onside. Pretty trinkets that act as dog tags, Canary?"

'No, you idiot!' She wanted to scream; Ollie had given her that for their anniversary before he had left on The Gambit. But she couldn't risk That Stanzler had a gunman aiming at her father.

"He's not the saint you think he is, Dinah… Or is it Laurel?"

"Dealer's choice, I suppose."

"Ooh, I smartass. Dinah, he's not a magnanimous leader. Teddy's a liar, a con-man. He didn't have the balls to avenge my sister and her children. His wife and Kids! He promised me that Costa's blood would be spilled. Instead, he decided to be a coward and lock them behind bars. They still breath while Marilyn, Jack, and Yolanda are six feet under."

"So, you killed those gang bangers for what? To satisfy a revenge you can't get?"

"No." He said. "To teach Ted how to let the streets flow with the blood of these dirtbags. The scum that I put down was just as bad as Costa, and his lot. And now they can't hurt a soul. It's justice."

* * *

Speedy was standing on a fire escape with Roy or Arsenal as he liked to be called standing next to her with his crimson hood up, and a lower face mask that was equally red that concealed his identity. They had just taken out a couple of drug peddlers.

Speedy exhaled, as she watched the steam coming from her breath, due to the cold. "You did good."

Roy snorted. "Nothing I haven't done before. You know, except for the what did you call them?" He asked, holding the two small rods in his hands.

"Kali Sticks. Soon we can start training with bow and arrows."

Roy nodded, as he pocketed the sticks, and lowered his mask, "What's wrong Thea? You have something on your mind, I can tell."

Thea sighed, and looked at her boyfriend. "… We found someone who hangs men as if they were meat. I Have faced some really bad people before. Seen things that I thought we brutal. Nothing compares to what we saw. I guess I'm wondering if what we are doing is actually helping or are, we just a band-aid... or making the situation worse."

"You are making a difference. For the first time since I can remember, young girls, feel safe to be on the street. Boys feel safe from drug dealers. Between what your brother does with Verdant, and gentrifying The Glades, and The Birds, what you and your sister do at night keeps people safe and have started lowering the amount of violent crime in the area. Gangs aren't pushing their products, nor recruiting as openly as they used to a few years ago." He then put his hand around her waist and pulled her closer to him. "I'll show the impact of what you have been doing during the day."

* * *

Laurel moved her hands as much as they could, considering that she had been cuffed and her hands held behind her back, as she felt the cold steel ground beneath her.

After what felt like hours, of not seeing Stanzler, she heard the screams and men barking orders following by gunfire, she quickly managed to slide her hands beneath her body and legs. She could now move with more ease, even if she was still restrained. She could defend herself.

The shipping container was thrown open and a masked gunman entered armed with an assault rifle looking to hide from whatever was happening outside. As he slowly backed into the container apparently forgetting about the woman bound in it Laurel took advantage of this fact by grabbing the man by the scruff of his neck and slamming his head into the cold steel knocking him out. She knelt down to find a key when she was grabbed by her hair and dragged out of the shipping container. Laurel felt her scalp burn but she refused to cry out as Stanzler pulled her across the ground and then held her in a chokehold.

"Teddy! I have your girl!"

Just as Laurel was going attempt to flip Stanzler over her shoulders a figure in green stepped out of the darkness. Laurel felt her self-breathe a sigh of relief at seeing Ollie. She felt his blue eyes checking her for any injuries, beside her throbbing head. Within a second, Oliver had let go of his bowstring, shooting an arrow that separated into two arrows. One, hit the chain of her cuffs, allowing her freedom, while the other hit Stanzler in his exposed shoulder.

She sent her elbow into the man's sternum, before ducking and rolling towards Oliver. As she did, she noticed Ted in his work clothes, as he would call them. She watched as Ted sent a powerful jab to his former comrade's kidney.

Stanzler recoiled and dropped to his knees. She watched as Ted lowered himself down to the man's height and whispered something into the man's ear. Laurel watched as Stanzler looked up at her, as she felt Oliver gently holding her hands up, as he unlocked her broken cuffs with a pick.

She looked up to Oliver, who was gently rubbing his hands on her bruised and chaffed wrists. "You alright, Pretty Bird?"

She swallowed and nodded. "I am, just a headache, nothing that some rest and time won't heal."

"Clocked over the head?"

"How did you know?" Laurel asked as she saw Oliver give a small shrug, looking almost lost in his thoughts. "Encountered that once or twice during my time in hell."

"It's a good thing I have a hard head like you then Ollie," Laurel replied with a smile and giving him a peck on the lips.

The sound of Wildcat dragging Stanzler out of the port, Laurel looked over as Ted threw her necklace. She deftly caught the treasured piece of jewelry and opened her hand to reveal her necklace.

Oliver exhaled, as she studied the necklace in her hand. "I can't believe that you kept this..."

"Your brothers… The Bratva, they gave me the name;  _Kanareyka_. They must have seen the pendant." It was left unsaid that codenames had originated from each other in some fashion.

He moved his gloved hand and lifted her chin, before giving her a small kiss, that sent electricity through both of them.

The sound of Wildcat returning, and clearing his throat brought them back to reality. "Stanzler won't be a problem. He'll keep our identities a secret."

Oliver quirked his brow from beneath the hood, "How?"

"Let's just say that I know some skeletons in his closet. I left him in a place where the cops will find him. Trust me he won't be getting out anytime soon." He then looked at Laurel. "You alright Dinah?"

She nodded, wincing at her pounding headache. "I will be."

"Plenty of water, and rest." He advised. He then looked over at Oliver, "I don't like you, suppose I never will." He then to the pair's surprise he held out his hand. Oliver grabbed the older man's hand and shook it. "But Dinah does. And that's enough for me, Casanova, you hurt her and her scream will be the least of your worries."

Having said his peace, Ted started to walk away, and back to the city proper. "You going back to Central?" Laurel asked.

Ted nodded, and walked away, giving a quick wave, before disappearing into the dark night.

Oliver had a distinct feeling that he and Laurel were given Ted's blessing. He looked beside him to see Laurel beam at him. "I'll take you home, Laurel."

"Then we can start back on our case with Tempest and your mother."

He kissed her brow and directed her towards his motorcycle. "There's time for that later Laurel. You need to rest up first. Mom isn't going anywhere, you need to stop being so impulsive, and not just run off to the next crisis.

"I am not impulsive just inquisitive. You are the one who is brazen and reckless." Laurel said cheekily.

"Whatever pretty bird," He said with a chuckle, "C'mon, let's get you home and let's get very  _warm_."


	19. The Undertaking

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here it is, the final chapter of Starling's Finest. I'm not exactly happy with it, but if I don't post it, it will stay in editing hell. 
> 
> I want to thank everyone who left comments on the fic and also those who simply enjoyed it silently. I would also like to thank highlander348 for being my beta from about chapters 7 to 18. Another special thank you to all the great people over at the Lauriver Discord for their support and help. And finally a special thanks to Okoriwadsworth for helping me with the final chapter and their support.

It was quite early in the morning when he had felt Laurel's warm body leave the bed. After she had left the warm confines of the bed, he could only hear her in the darkness, grabbing her gym clothes. Laurel was preparing to leave to train before the day started.

He got up a little later, and bought her and Thea breakfast, knowing that the two would be at Wildcat's Gym. He made it to the old door and peeked through the window to see the two most important women in his life sparring. Laurel had the discipline and skill, while Thea possessed the agility.

Unintentionally, Oliver found himself watching intently, watching his sister occasionally duck below a high kick, or Laurel trapping Thea's arms before she could hit her. It still amazed Oliver how far his sister had come, last year she was a rebellious young woman, a girl, now she was a trained vigilante.

All because of Laurel, who, unlike him chose this life, her only intention was to protect the people that the law couldn't or wouldn't. Sometimes the law wasn't enough, and that was the sad truth of the world.

Before long, he found himself, unknowingly walking into the gym, only to see Laurel beam in his direction. "Ollie!"

Thea spun her head around. "Ollie, I see that you have brought us breakfast." She then gave him a mischievous smirk before looking at Laurel. "You have trained him well."

He handed each of the girls their breakfast and sat down on the steel benches that were cold to touch. It reminded him of the nights he spent in the fuselage. Oliver exhaled, he wasn't on the island anymore, and his family were with him on the same crusade.

There was no sound but the three of them chewing on their food before Thea had to break the contented silence, "Do you two have any ideas about how to get Mom to talk?" She asked slightly covering her mouth as she spoke with her mouth full.

The truth was, the pair of them had discussed how to get the information from his mother, ranging from him and Thea confronting her as concerned children, to the vigilantes of Starling City visiting her in the middle of the night. The latter is what he would have done if she wasn't his mother.

"I do…" Thea started, as Oliver's phone rang, He apologised to Thea, and picked up his phone, seeing Tommy's ID. "Tommy, long time…"

" _Hey, man! It's been a while. You and Laurel and I should hang out."_

Oliver covered the receiver and looked at his girlfriend. "Tommy wants the two of us to spend some time with him."

He watched as Laurel wiped her face with a towel. "What's planning?"

Oliver shrugged and put the phone back to his ear. "What's on the itinerary, Buddy?"

" _Something, small… I have something to tell you."_ Oliver noticed the hesitation in Tommy's voice, he seemed anxious. All most scared.

"Alright, Buddy. How about tomorrow night at Laurel's?" He asked, looking at Laurel who gave a thumbs up in agreement.

" _Seems good, I'll buy the pizza."_

Thea looked at Oliver and Laurel with an exasperated look. "Now this is the plan…."

* * *

Oliver and Thea walked into the mansion that night and walked to their mother, who was looking out the window, with a thoughtful expression. She looked like she had been standing there for quite some time.

Thea spoke first. "Mom?"

Moira turned around and gave them a slight smile that didn't reach her eyes. "Thea, Oliver? What's wrong? Walter's upstairs resting."

Oliver nodded before taking a slight step closer to her. "Who took Walter?" Their mother then gave them the generic answer that she had fed the media earlier. They both knew that she wasn't telling the truth. It may have worked once when they were less jaded, but not anymore.

"That's what you told the media," Oliver said, gently prodding his mother, to tell the truth. Giving his mother a chance to voluntarily confess, so that they didn't need to force her hand.

"Excuse me? Are you insinuating that I had something to do with my husband's kidnapping?" She asked with a slight edge to her voice. Oliver knew he had just hit a nerve; he knew he was on thin ice in regard to his mother.

Thea shook her head, moving towards their mother, gently placing a hand on her mother's forearm. "No one is insinuating or accusing anyone." She assured her mother. "But if you were coerced, or maybe put under duress?"

A proud smile started tugging at Moira's lips, as she listened to her daughter try to play good cop, to her brother's bad cop routine. "You've been spending too much time with Laurel, my dear. You're speaking like a lawyer."

Oliver steered the conversation back on the topic and away from Laurel. They needed to find out the truth and prevent The Undertaking before it devastated Starling. "I showed you Dad's notebook, you seemed to know something, the look of fear on your face told me it was about our family. Please, Mom, let us help you. Before it's too late."

He prayed that she would make amends, that she would see the error of her ways before it was too late. So that she didn't follow their Dad down the same path.

She shook her head, her lips tightly closed as if she were preventing herself from succumbing to tears. "I can't lose my two babies. I hope that in time, you both will understand a parent's burden, but I need you to understand this. I need you to stop asking these questions before you get yourselves killed." She begged her two children. She looked at Thea, before locking her eyes with her son's blue eyes, believing that he was the ringleader of this fishing expedition.

"I can't do this; I can't take the lies!" Thea muttered storming off. A few minutes later, he could hear her car screeching down the driveway. Oliver had to resist smirking at his sister's flair for the dramatics, and judging by the hurt on his mother's face, it started to crack her hard exterior. Perhaps, Thea wasn't being overly melodramatic, that she knew how to play their mother in a vastly different way than he had before the island.

Oliver sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose before he looked towards his mother. "Mom. I can't let this go. Thea obviously has..." He lied; Thea wasn't as weak-willed as she just tried to portray herself as was the plan.

"But I can't." He breathed, as he grasped his mother's hand in his, "Let me help you…" Before he could continue, a nearby stained-glass window shattered, tiny shards of glass dropped to the ground. The next thing Oliver felt was a sharp pain in his neck.

Oliver haphazardly pulled the dart from his neck, his trembling hand forced him to drop it before passing out.

Oliver woke up bleary eyes from the side effects of the drug. He looked to see him and his mother tied up. "Mom?"

"Oliver?" His mother asked drowsily. "Where are we?"

It was then that they heard footsteps on the wet concrete, followed by a disguised voice, "Moira Dearden Queen, and her pretty boy heir. Oliver Jonas Queen." Oliver had to resist rolling his eyes at that, "I saved your daughter once. I wonder what your only daughter would say if she heard that you were a criminal. That you have been in league with those that tried to slit her throat last year?"

He watched as his mother squinted at the silhouette, who was slowly pacing around the darkness, "The Woman in Black?" Moira's voice trembled as she asked the darkness. No longer was she the intimidating businesswoman, she was a mother, scared for the life of her child, and herself.

Black Canary walked out, her coattails billowing behind her, as she marched towards the matriarch of the Queen family, "Moira Queen, I'm The Justice you cannot run from!" She then turned to Oliver; who gave her a nearly imperceptible nod, encouraging her to continue with the plan. Starling's Canary looked over her shoulder back to the Queen Matriarch. "Tell Me, everything you know about Tempest!"

When Moira didn't answer, The Woman in Black sent several hard jabs to Oliver's face. Despite Oliver instructing her not to hold back, she couldn't help but feel guilty every time her gloved fist collided with his jaw.

"Leave my son alone!" Moira snarled at the female vigilante.

"What is Malcolm Merlyn and Tempest planning in The Glades?" Black Canary asked, without looking at Moira, her fist in the air, ready to deliver another punch.

"I can't tell you. He will kill everyone I love, family, friends…" She sobbed, her eyes practically begging Black Canary to believe her, and cease her assault on her son.

Black Canary looked at Oliver, who was sporting a busted lip and a bruised jaw. "You should be more worried about what I will do to your son..." The blonde vigilante said, before adding; "Or your daughter."

Moira shook her head, with a slightly smug smile. "You don't kill." She said with a slight chuckle in her voice, "It's why the cops won't arrest you like they planned to do with The Hood."

"Perhaps." The Canary granted, "Or maybe, they haven't found the bodies." She looked over her shoulder at Moira, with a dark smirk which caused the older woman to pale. "I killed The Ninja-Archer. I killed him once. I hear that he was or rather is; Tempest's dog. I will kill him again after the Queen dynasty shall suffer for their involvement." The black-clad vigilante promised. "You can't escape justice, Mrs Queen, and perhaps I should teach that to your son?" She taunted taking a swing at her boyfriends' side, forcing his chair to fall to the ground with a loud echoing thud, hearing Oliver groan slightly. She hoped that it was him playing the scene and not her getting carried away.

"Malcolm is planning on levelling The Glades." The Queen Matriarch sobbed, her eyes trained on her son, who was feigning about to pass out. After a few long seconds, Moira finally looked up at The Canary of Starling City in fear, her eyes red, and cheeks tear-stained.

"How?" Black Canary pressed, taking a measured step away from Oliver, and hearing his mother sigh in relief.

"There's a device. It causes earthquakes or mimics them."

"How?"

"Unidac Industries. He used Queen Consolidate's applied science department to weaponise the device." Moira quickly explained in an attempt to prevent her son from being brutally beaten by the woman that had been sparking both fear and awe within Starling.

Black Canary pulled a small curved knife from her boot. "Where is the device?"

"I don't know." Moira wept, as she saw The Canary brandish her small blade, and turning back towards Oliver.

"I can't stop him if it remains a secret." The vigilante growled. Why was Moira being so difficult?

"You can't stop him. I know you have a love for The Glades. I witnessed your crusade against Brickwell, but Malcolm Merlyn is a different kettle of fish, besides it's too late."

Black Canary slashed Oliver's binds, before looking off into the darkness, "You know what to do." A second later, a red arrow flew over The Canary's shoulder and slashed the bindings that held Moira.

Moira froze she hadn't realised that Black Canary was alone, that she had her partner The Red Arrow with her during this interrogation. Without another thought about her safety and who else was lurking in the shadows, the petrified mother dashed towards her son, fretting over him, only to be quickly rebuffed by her son. Oliver slowly got to his feet, leaving his mother in the abandoned warehouse.

* * *

Laurel walked past the main desk in the SCPD precinct on her way to visit her father. As she walked around the corner, she saw Tommy had just finished talking to her father. Tommy walked up to her, looking almost pensive "Hey, haven't seen you in a while, we still on for dinner at your place?"

"Yep, around seven? She asked, looking at Tommy, who was looking at her with a weird look as if he was seeing her differently for the first time. It made Laurel feel slightly unnerved and wonder just what was going on his head.

"Sure." He then walked past her, with a small polite smile, made his way towards the exit of the police station.

Once Tommy had left the precinct, her father approached her. "I know that you weren't exactly close with Merlyn last year as you were in the past, but it seems like you have barely spoken to him this year, you on the outs with him?"

She shrugged. Laurel didn't know how exactly to answer the question. As much as she still loved him as a friend, their interests and ideals had shifted. Her night job and being an attorney had taken priority. Laurel had to try to stem the haemorrhaging of Starling, in order to help heal the city.

Despite Tommy assisting her and Thea last year, he seemed to still have a taste for partying more than helping others. "Been kinda busy, with work _."_  She then paused. "He wants to have dinner with me and Ollie — Ollie and I are back together." She intoned, waiting for her father to voice his discontentment.

Her father gave a look as if he had known for a while that it was an eventuality, "I know, baby. I have seen you making googly eyes with Queen again, and he, with you." At her stunned expression, he gave a half chuckle. "Since Oliver has returned from the island, he has been different." He gave a knowing look, it went unsaid that he was giving his blessing, that he wouldn't stand in their way, "But I will deny tooth and nail, I ever said that." He added, with a wry smile.

Laurel chuckled. "Okay."

He then grabbed his wallet from his desk and walked up to his daughter, guiding her outside "Let's get a bite to eat."

* * *

Thea opened the large doors to her family's mansion, to see Walter had a couple of large suitcases with him, and her mother weeping, as she watched Walter stand in the mansion's foyer.

"Where are you going?" Thea asked as she entered the mansion, almost walking into his luggage.

"Come here." Walter wrapped his arms around her and gave her a small paternal kiss on her crown. "You are a resilient and intelligent young woman, I'm proud to have called you my daughter. Keep living your life as you have, and I will be the proudest step-father in the world." With that, he left, not looking back, and hopped into the town car with his belongings and left.

Thea looked at her mother, and couldn't exactly feel pity for her. But she felt an enormous amount of sympathy for Walter. He had encouraged her to pursue a career with Laurel, while her mother was hesitant.

"I'm done with these lies, Mom. You have to stop the Undertaking. Until then, I'll be at Roy's." She couldn't believe that her mother could be a part of The Undertaking. Especially after she had known that she and Laurel have been working to make the Glades a safe place with CNRI for over the last year.

It had made Thea feel sick to her stomach, hearing her mother's own words that she was a part of The Undertaking and Tempest. An organisation that Moira's own future daughter-in-law had been trying to dismantle for the better part of two years.

Her mother had been tangentially linked to the people that had tried to kill her. Her mother was involved with Malcolm, who had tried to both kill Laurel multiple times. Had been a part of Brick's cabal that included the Triads. The people that had tried to slit her throat would have killed her if Laurel hadn't saved her.

Thea wondered what her mother would think if she knew that her own family had been dismantling Tempest. That she had a relationship with a man that had almost killed all three of them?

Though it now made sense to Thea, now, why her mother had tried to get her to leave CNRI and leave Laurel to work as a part of Queen Consolidated. Thea would be safely ensconced in either the mansion or the QC Headquarters, rather than be killed when The Glades were levelled. And while Laurel was close to the Queen Family, she wasn't one of them. And apparently in her mother's eyes, that made Laurel expendable in this scenario.

* * *

Laurel left the kitchen, to see Oliver walking out of the bedroom, and into the living room, "Pretty Bird, you ready to see Tommy?"

"Not really, he was looking at me weirdly when I was speaking to Dad earlier," Laurel confessed as she padded towards him.

"Whatever he says, or wants, we will handle this together." He promised as he wrapped his arm around her waist.

"Together." She agreed with her lips upturning, and standing on her toes, she gave him a small kiss.

Oliver opened the door at the sound of a knock and greeted their old friend into the apartment. Tommy followed Oliver, who was now holding two boxes of pizza from Mario's and a bottle of expensive wine.

The trio sat down, and helped themselves to their dinner, after about ten minutes of comfortable chit-chat and catching up, Tommy stopped eating, and looked at them, and back at the door. He swallowed audibly. He looked as if he was deciding between whether to bolt from the apartment or speak to them about something.

Their friend was scared, she realised. "Tommy, you alright?" Laurel asked gently as if he was about to be spooked.

Tommy nodded quickly, "Sure… "He answered too quickly as if to remind himself more than them, "You guys are still my friends, right?" He asked, as his eyes flicked between Laurel and Oliver.

Oliver furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why wouldn't we?

He fidgeted in his seat, and a small bead of sweat slide from his forehead. "So, anything I say here will never leave the walls of this apartment?" He asked, looking from the windows to the two occupants.

"You have my word," Laurel said resolutely and watched in her peripheral vision Oliver nodding in agreement. It warmed her heart, that she and Oliver were on the same page.

"Ok… Ok…" He said reassuring himself. "I know who you both are, Thea as well." He revealed slowly and looked like he was preparing himself to be assaulted.

Laurel froze. She couldn't move. She watched Oliver, knowing that the gears in his beautiful head were going a hundred miles an hour, desperately going through every scenario that could go from here.

Tommy swallowed the Bordeaux in one gulp and refilled his glass, "I have known about you, Laurel and Thea since you both started collecting bruises, and really, Laurel, in what world, would you allow someone beat you up, let alone Thea?" He then looked at Oliver, "I found out about you later, especially after both of you two started  _hanging_  out together again."

Oliver bit his lip, his voice gentle. "Tommy, we didn't tell you because we didn't trust you… It was just to ensure that you were safe. I promise it had nothing to do with trust."

"What about Thea?" Tommy asked with an edge to his voice, as if he couldn't comprehend either of them, allowing Thea to get hurt, surely, she should have been protected as he was, if not more?

Laurel exhaled audibly, before she explained, "She found me half dead last year, she was already in Brick's crosshairs, and the Triads as well, training her and bringing her into the fold was the best course of action."

Tommy nodded but didn't look pleased, rather he looked hurt that his two best friends would hide their lives from him. "I can't lie and say it doesn't hurt." His fist clenched, as he stood. "Dad's doing some shady shit in The Glades." Tommy revealed, "He said that he's doing it for my mother, but you both knew her, she wouldn't want this!" With having said his piece, he left the apartment.

Laurel jumped up, ready to call out to their friend when she felt Oliver gently pull her back. "Let him go, he needs to digest the information."

* * *

The next morning, he woke up with Laurel's head buried in his neck, and their naked legs entwined beneath her sheets. He brushed his fingers across her bare arm, tracing some of her scars.

Her scars told just as much of a tale of sacrifice as his scars did. The only difference between their scars, for the most part, was that Laurel's were created as a consequence of her voluntarily giving her blood, sweat and tears for Starling, his scars were not.

He hated that she had endured a slither of hell that he had. Only that she had chosen this life by choice rather than forced into it like he was.

Her eyes fluttered and smiled at him. "Morning."

"Morning Pretty Bird." His heart fluttered at the smile that she gave him.

"Pretty Bird? Are you mocking me, as you did before?" She asked with a mock frown. He felt his lips inch upwards at her playful teasing.

"Never." He gave her a peck on the lips, as his hand rested on her bare hip. "I thought it was an apt name for you. You're beautiful, and you are The Canary of Starling City."

She rested her head back on his chest and placed a hand on his chest above his heart. "I love the name, Ollie."

* * *

Speedy and Digg were casing the location of the warehouse that held the Markov device, Diggle eyed Speedy up and down and scoffed, playfully. "What is with you Queen's and bows and hoods?"

Speedy shrugged. "Must be a family trait." The female archer said with an air of nonchalance. She stood beside Diggle as they cased the warehouse to find that someone had removed the contents.

They looked around to find the warehouse empty, Speedy put her arrow back in her quiver. "Typical. Always gone before you wanted it."

"We aren't out of the game yet. It's not over until we have Merlyn, or he destroys The Glades and everything and everyone in it."

"It won't get that far."

Diggle hummed, moving his flashlight once more around the large warehouse. "No, we won't let it. I can't exactly see any of you going down without a fight."

Thea exhaled, taking a final look around before speaking on the comms. "Felicity, the device isn't here."

* * *

As Lance started interrogating Felicity, a knock on the door interrupted him. He excused himself and walked out to see his daughter. "Can we talk in private?"

Lance nodded and directed her into a small conference room. "What's up? Usually, I'm the one tracking you and Thea down."

"We've been working with The Arrow." She said carefully, knowing that he had been hunting for him for the better part of the year.

"And? You have a name?" He asked.

Laurel nodded, biting her lip as she did so. "But It's not my secret to share, just like you wouldn't out me or Thea."

Quintin sighed, and scratched his head, "Fine," He exhaled, "What is it that the three of you need?"

"Mass evacuation of The Glades. Malcolm Merlyn is planning on levelling The Glades, with an earthquake device, we don't know how many he has. If we don't stop it…"

He nodded, he knew exactly what a large-scale earthquake would do to the city, let alone to the many people who inhabited The Glades, "I'll do what I can from my end. And you and the Queen siblings better be careful alright."

She nodded. "I shouldn't be surprised you would find out, even after he sent you on a wild goose chase." She replied, "If you knew, why did you ask me for his name?"

Lance shrugged. "I had my suspicions wanted to see I was right, and see how far you would protect him."

"Then why do you have, Felicity?"

"If he wasn't Queen, she was my link to him. Call it insurance for my daughters, and for the city." He said with a soft voice. "I didn't want him to hurt you. It's a parent's job to fret about his kids." He then lowered his voice to a whisper, "Especially when they are vigilantes."

* * *

Oliver just got off his phone after talking to Laurel, she and Thea were packing up all their cases and paperwork to ensure that people could still rely on CNRI in the worst-case scenario. Oliver could hear his sister yelling something in the background, as they hoarded all the document they could before they loaded it in the back of Digg's van that they had borrowed.

"Bye, I love you." He said before he hung up.

He then walked in Tommy was standing the bar at Verdant, drinking whiskey from the bottle. "Look who it is, my best buddy in all the world."

"Hey, Buddy."

"Imagine my surprise, when The Hood, or was it The Arrow?" He sneered. "Starts working with Black Canary and Speedy?" He widened his arms, "The Emerald Archer and his Birds of Prey." He mocked, it was obvious to Oliver that Tommy hadn't taken the confirmation well, "My two best friends, keeping me in the dark. Laurel and Oliver, always and forever."

"I'm sorry."

"No, you're not" Tommy snarled.

Oliver sighed. "It involves your father with some criminal stuff… You said so yourself."

Tommy scowled as he walked closer to Oliver. "Think I don't know!" He bellowed, "I am going to try to talk him out of it."

Oliver shook his head and spoke gently to his hurting friend. "He's not the kind of man to talk out of his plans."

Tommy looked at Oliver with a forlorn look in his eyes. "He's my Dad, Ollie. I can stop all of this before it happens." Tommy declared, "If he sees any of you there it will ruin the one chance. I may have to bring my dad back to how he was. He wasn't always evil, Ollie. I have to try for him, for my Mom."

"Just… Be careful, okay? If he seems off, run, and call us."

* * *

Later that night, Oliver received a call from Thea. She was telling him that their mother was holding a news conference, where she was talking about her involvement with The Undertaking and pleading with the people who lived in The Glades to leave and evacuate.

Thea then relayed that she had to find her boyfriend and ensure that he had left The Glades. Oliver turned back to Laurel, Diggle and Felicity. "Digg, I need you in the subway, find the device, and disarm it."

Diggle nodded as Laurel spoke. "We will get Merlyn together. We both have a debt to repay that bastard."

Oliver gave her a small smile, he squeezed her hand; it felt odd not feeling her warm skin, but feeling her fishnet-like material, or the rubber reinforced protective pads on her knuckles. "Together."

The IT specialist coughed... "Umm. Both of you will die. Both of you have nearly died thanks to him, shouldn't someone like Digg help Oliver, while Laurel hunts for the device, she knows The Glades better than anyone."

Oliver squeezed Laurel's hand, "Laurel is the only person who has almost killed him — Any normal person should have been killed by the end of that fight." Oliver revealed as he remembered Laurel confessing to him that she thought that she had once killed Merlyn due to burning him alive. "Besides, she has an ace up her sleeve."

Laurel beamed at him before looking at Felicity, and Diggle, who was cleaning his pistol, "My Canary Cry. Oliver has experienced listening to it. He's not a fan when it's turned against him."

Diggle cleared his throat, as he holstered his firearm, "I'll contact Speedy to assist me in tracking down the device." He then looked at Laurel. "And you said, that your father has the force evacuating The Glades?"

Laurel nodded, grateful that her father will help them, even if it rubbed his superiors the wrong way. "The Birds have a good reputation with the SCPD. That goodwill has helped convinced Pike to agree with my father and Detective Hilton to comply with their suggestion to evacuate The Glades and the surrounding areas."

* * *

Black Canary and The Arrow silently stalked up to Malcolm's office suite, only to see Tommy bleeding out, clutching his stomach, preventing his insides from falling out. They both rushed over to him, their friend was deathly pale, a few feet away from his was his cell phone, the screen shattered.

Oliver gently moved Tommy's hand nervously to see that his childhood friend had been eviscerated by his own father.

"I'm sorry… I should have believed you, Ollie," Tommy whimpered, as he realised who was next to him.

Laurel ran her fingers through his hair. "You're alright. Shhhh. Tommy, you're a hero. You helped me bring down Brick, and you tried to stop your father. Real heroes don't wear masks, Tommy."

Oliver's voice hitched, "And that's what you are buddy, a hero. Just hold on a bit longer, help will be on its way."

Tommy's eyes drooped, "My father is…" He coughed, loudly as blood dripped from his mouth. "Crazy… he did this… tried to stop him… wanted to show… I… could be strong…" The pair watched as Tommy took a final breath. Laurel gently lowered their friend back down and stood up and unclipped her tonfa.

After reluctantly leaving their friend's body behind, the pair tried their best to keep their minds on the mission, as they listened to Felicity instruct either Speedy or Diggle to disarm the device. Black Canary and The Arrow eventually found their way into Malcolm's office to find a loose panel and slid it open to see a small arsenal, and Malcolm standing there his eyes looked devoid of emotion.

"Laurel, Oliver. I have been expecting you." He said calmly, standing in front of a small arsenal of weapons while clutching his bow. Black Canary and The Arrow surrounded him attempting to corner him in the back of the small room. "I wanted to see you both watch this city that you covet die."

"Transmitter. Where is it?" Black Canary growled as she walked around one of the tables.

"Out of your reach, but not mine." He then glared at Black Canary. "I owe you something, Miss Lance. A blood debt. You lit me on fire and left me to die." He growled as he lifted up one sleeve and then pulled down the collar of his jacket, revealing nasty burn scars. The burns looked as if his skin was melted wax that had set.

"Pity it didn't stick." She sneered, if it had, Starling wouldn't be in the situation it was currently in. But would she be able to live with that guilt? She wasn't so sure.

The three of them started to fight in the small enclosed room, a flurry of kicks and punches were sent, so quickly that no one had much time to think, beyond defending and retaliating. Eventually, Black Canary relieved Merlyn of his bow, only for him to throw a small blade into her leg, as she knelt to clutch her wound, Malcolm sent a hard kick to her chest, sending Laurel back into the steel tables. She eventually rose to her feet, clutching her leg, she told her boyfriend to follow Merlyn.

The Arrow reluctantly left Laurel and chased Malcolm to the rooftop. Oliver immediately fired an arrow at Merlyn. He had killed Tommy, threatened his mother, and had just hurt Laurel.

His vision went red, as he fired several arrows after each other, while simultaneously dodging each arrow that was fired in his direction. Oliver charged at the older man, quickly skidding on his knees across the gravel rooftop, avoiding Malcolm's strike.

The Arrow then quickly blocked the next strike, before whirling his bow around, hitting Malcolm in the side. Oliver dodged a flurry of kicks and strikes before shoving the man away, giving The Arrow enough time to draw an arrow and fire.

The Dark Archer, deftly caught the arrow, not realising that it was a flashbang arrow. Malcolm fell onto the gravel floor and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. Oliver moved closer to finish the fight, only for Merlyn to pull a sword and slash Oliver across the arm.

The Emerald Archer hissed, feeling the blade cut through the suit and his skin. The sleeve of his once green suit was now crimson. Every time he moved his arm, he felt the searing reminder of the wound. As if someone had poured scalding hot oil onto his arm. He had to remind himself to breathe in an attempt to prevent shock or blood loss; it was what Anatoly had taught him when he was shot on The Amazo and had to perform his own surgery, it wouldn't help much from the adrenaline, but it was the most he could do at this moment.

He felt a slither of sadness that he could never really be brothers with him ever again. He couldn't. Anatoly would figure out that Laurel was the one that helped demolish the Bratva chapter in the city, and everyone would be in danger, not just him and Laurel.

Oliver looked up from his bleeding arm to see Malcolm lunge for him, Oliver used his bow to deflect the sword and kick the man's wrist, hearing a sickening crunch. The sword fell to the wayside. Oliver then threw a jab before he tried to trap Malcolm's incoming strike, only for the pain in his arm flare-up, Oliver winced at the painful reminder of his open wound. Malcolm took that brief moment of distraction to throw the younger man over his shoulder and wrap his arm around Oliver's neck holding him in a chokehold.

Black Canary stumbled of the fire escape, clutching her bloody thigh to see Malcolm holding Oliver in a chokehold. Her boyfriend's face was red, almost turning purple from the lack of oxygen. Without thinking, she used her scream, both men were launched forwards. Malcolm received the brunt of the force and was launched several feet further and off the rooftop.

He hoped that the pair of them could help each other grieve of the loss of their childhood friend. His Baby Girl certainly had a better support network than she did the year before so she should be able to work through any guilt or grief she had without letting it eat her up inside, and hopefully, she and Thea could do the same with Oliver.

" _Speedy and John have stopped the device,"_ Felicity said over the comms.

Oliver exhaled as he pulled an arrow, as Laurel pulled out the pistol her father had given her from her ankle holster. Together, they walked towards the edge of the roof to see Malcolm dangling from the edge.

"It's over, Malcolm," Oliver groaned, feeling exhausted from the fight and slightly light-headed.

Malcolm smirked as he coughed up blood. "No… I always have a backup plan. Another device."

Oliver looked towards Laurel who he saw had paled just the same of him.

They had failed.

A few seconds later, they heard a low rumbling sound, followed by a loud roar, the pair looked out towards The Glades to see the buildings in the lower part of The Glades were turned to rubble.

As both vigilantes looked over the rooftops, they saw a levelled part of the city. With only a few buildings, barely managing to stay upright. They had won the battle but lost the war against Merlyn. Oliver couldn't help but stare off at the destruction helplessly, while Laurel closed her eyes and looked away fighting the rising bile in her throat.

Oliver glared down at the man hanging from the edge of the building before he could shoot an arrow into him. Malcolm gave one last smirk. "I am out of your league." He then released his grip, falling below. Oliver closed his eyes briefly, clutching Laurel to his chest, before they opened their eyes to see Malcolm Merlyn on the rooftop below, laying awkwardly, and unmoving over an air duct.

* * *

Lance and Hilton, with a contingent of heavily armed police, made their way through Merlyn Global, they found Thomas Merlyn brutally murdered, and went up on the roof to see Black Canary and The Arrow zip-lining together to a lower building. Quintin noticed his daughter and Queen leaning on each other as they disappeared. He felt relief in knowing that Laurel hadn't fought Merlyn alone.

Hilton climbed down a ladder to check on Malcolm Merlyn when one of the officers watched as his daughter and her boyfriend escaped into the night after saving the city. "Should we stop them? Have men surround the building and cover the block?"

Lance shook his head. "Black Canary, the Green Arrow, and Speedy all saved us today. Pike was just on the horn and said he saw Speedy and a man wearing a red hoodie leaving the scene where we thought the only earthquake machine was. They also saw a man with a balaclava assisting our boys in the evacuation. They're heroes." Lance said.

"But Sir, The Glades…"

"They prevented the whole Glades from being levelled and managed to save thousands of lives and stopped Merlyn from causing more problems. I doubt that the death toll will be high after we forced an evacuation." Besides, he thought, buildings, infrastructure and the like, can be replaced, restored, lives couldn't.

Lance then watched as his daughter and Oliver disappear several buildings away from them into the darkness. He looked back at Hilton, who returned. "He's dead. He looks like he died from the roof during the fight."

"Call C.S.U, and the M.E. It will be a long night." Internally, he hoped that his two daughters and Oliver wouldn't dwell on their failures tonight, and tried to celebrate what they had achieved. They had saved thousands of lives from being killed in the largest terrorist attack the city has ever seen.

* * *

Quintin had finished identifying the body of Malcolm Merlyn in the city morgue, as he and the coroner left, a woman wearing a black suit reminiscent of the one Malcolm had worn as The Dark Archer dropped down from an air vent.

She and another ninja picked up their master and escaped.

Once they arrived at their secret location, they opened their dead master's mouth and poured their holy water down his throat. Water that possessed the ability to elongate or preserve life. Water from the Lazarus Pit. The pair waited with bated breath for Malcolm to return to them.

After a few minutes, Malcolm breathed. He panted as he looked around and smiled at his disciples. He then smirked as he looked at his right-hand woman. "Athena, I'm glad that my trust in you to lead The Thanatos Guild in my absence and put my redundancy into effect was not in vain"

The black-haired woman bowed. "I live to serve you, master."

Malcolm smirked. He would have to lie in wait until the right time showed itself, and he could finally usurp Ra's, and take the ancient throne of Nanda Parbat. It would be the only way that he could continue breathing.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I want to thank all the Firefighters and emergency services along with the vast number of volunteers who have been risking their lives in the Bushfires along the east coast of Australia. You, the men and women who are risking their lives to help others are the real heroes. Real Heroes don't wear capes.


End file.
